Recriminalization of drugs in Oregon: The latest backlash

Abstract

Liberal policies are good for drug users, and good for addiction treatment, but what happened in Oregon last week – the governor signing into law the recriminalization of possession of small amounts of drugs – was inevitable because of poor implementation of those policies. When Oregon promised to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs three years ago, following a well‐financed campaign by the Drug Policy Alliance, the goal was to make treatment more accessible. Nobody made treatment more accessible. Drug users flocked to the state for its reputation of easy access. Overdose deaths soared. The only position lawmakers saw for themselves, in the face of constituent horror at the dissolution of the formerly beauty of Portland, was to go back on the decision they themselves made. This is called backlash, and it's not good for people who need treatment. The same thing is underway in San Francisco, which also created a landscape that was appealing to drug users – and lo and behold, the overdose rate soared, and businesses shut their doors in the face of littering and excrement on the streets and children having to step over overdosed drug users on their way to school. These icons of liberal policy need to do something other than reverse course, but it's understandable that they don't know what that is. In San Francisco, the overdose prevention center (OPC) was closed because fewer than 1% of users went to treatment. At least the OPC created a place for people to use drugs without dying. Now, in San Francisco, there is new housing and shelters for drug users, but these just provide a place for people to overdose out of the sight of passersby with naloxone. Do we have an answer? No. But a backlash isn't it. Stay tuned.