decriminalizedrugsoregon
Drug Decriminalization Oregon
Blog created for Portland State UNST 242 assignment with a focus on Drug Decriminalization in Oregon by Anna Hart
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I chose this post not just for its content, which is a clear display of humanity and compassion, but also for the comment beneath it, which states "Thank you for all the lives you have helped save over the years. Your needle exchange was the first one I learned of as a teenager in PDX back in the early 90’s" (@freeherbalmedicineeugene). This is a clear display of commitment- long before it was deemed as more ‘socially acceptable’ to promote harm reduction and drug decriminalization, Outside In PDX was working to help support our communities and keep it safe. The work that they have done over the past few decades should be a template for how to effectively perform harm reduction moving forward.
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This post is a great example of community- this screenshot is not originally posted by PDX harm reduction, but rather by a community member. Community based participation is key in helping raise support and awareness to common issues in drug use- right now in Portland we are seeing a large influx in fentanyl contaminated drugs. Members of the community want to come together and help each other, and the message continues to be passed down the line.
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This is a fantastic example of a common purpose. While pdx harm reduction has a primary focus on harm reduction and helping people work through the rehabilitation process, it is essential to understand that unhoused people tend to have a higher susceptibility to addiction. The goal of harm reduction works alongside the goal of helping unhoused people, and share the common purpose of supporting those people in as many ways as possible.
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Blog deliverable 6
Our first journal article is aptly titled “Ending the War on Drugs Need Not, and Should Not, Involve Legalizing Supply by a For Profit Industry ''. Caulkins and Reuter write this article by approaching the idea of full legalization, but the points they make are important to understand and recognize when approaching decriminalization. They begin by dissecting the number of those in state prisons and jails for drug crimes, pointing out that the numbers have been steadily declining since 2007, and that data for jails are limited compared to prison due to the lack of detailed breakdowns of the charges of each inmate (Calkins & Reuter, 2021). Throughout the article Caulkins and Reuter made important points when looking at decriminalization through a critical lens.
To begin- even if there was no racial component to drug arrests, the prohibition of drugs in and of itself would be an ethical issue due to the difference in nature between the crime and the punishment. While the authors agree that drug decriminalization as a whole is worth trying, they point out that it is a complex issue with much nuance, contrary to what many proponents of decriminalization believe, and heavily discourage the potential of fully legalizing these illicit substances.
One point made is that one argument about decriminalization points to an element of harm reduction- the idea that by removing criminal punishments and the criminality of drugs the drugs automatically become safer (Calkins & Reuter, 2021) . In truth, the opioid epidemic has shown us that prescription opioids (POs) have been a catalyst in the rise of drug use in the country, and tend to push people to seek out stronger and more illicit options for use- such as heroin- that results in overdoses and drug related deaths (Caulkins & Reuter, 2021). While legal and prescribed by doctors, POs have a history of beginning people’s addictions.
The legalization of cannabis is also pointed to as an example of the legalization of drugs resulting in no change other than a lack of arrests and charges. Allowing the use of drugs does not necessarily mean that use automatically becomes safer, or that there are any significant changes in potency, use, addiction etc (Caulkins & Reuter, 2021). While it is important to note that this journal article focuses on the idea of legalization, different from the concept of decriminalization that I have been focusing on, it is valuable for us to look at previous or different interventions that may hold similar qualities as decriminalization to learn from and compare to.
The second article, “Early returns on decriminalization in Oregon shows little treatment”, revolves around Oregon’s decriminalization and what has stemmed from it, in Gary Enos’s eyes a failure so far. A state court administrator testified that of those who have appeared before the courts with drug related citations, only 8% have been dismissed due to the defendant seeking evaluation for treatment as required by Measure 110 (Enos, 2022). The OHA has also reported that of that 8% only 1% of those who do access any evaluation services or other services offered by the measure actually enter treatment (Enose 2022). While there are many people who access the harm reduction services, very few actually follow a path to sobriety. This lack of actual intervention has been a driving force for those who oppose the measure as people are looking for actual interventions, rather than the option to “call an 800 number” (Enos, 2022). Even supporters of the measure have been speaking out against it- for the same reasons as above. The overarching issue Enos brings up is the execution of the measure itself, rather than the idea of decriminalizing drugs.
While both articles bring up potential issues within the Measure itself, their points differ slightly. Both seem to agree on the basic umbrella idea that without solid intervention, decriminalization as a whole is not necessarily effective for a solid model of decriminalization. Caulkins and Reuter look at decriminalization/legalization from a statistical perspective- the rate of incarceration with drug related crimes, how many people fall into hard drug use, the effects of legalization on the drug itself. In contrast, Enos looks at decriminalization specifically through Oregon’s execution, and focuses on where we went wrong rather than important things to understand when approaching the area of decriminalization. Both articles hold valuable points to better help us understand how to approach decriminalization.
Citations
Caulkins, J. P., & Reuter, P. (2021). Ending the War on Drugs Need Not, and Should Not, Involve Legalizing Supply by a For-Profit Industry. The American Journal of Bioethics, 21(4), 31–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2021.1893064
Enos, G. (2022), Early returns on decriminalization in Oregon show little treatment. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 34: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/adaw.33565
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This video, originally produced by and shown by the PBS newshour, approaches Oregon’s decision to decriminalize drugs as a potential model for the country to follow suit. They begin by bringing on Sabrina Brandt, who has been using Intravenous drugs for almost 15 years. Sabrina shares how the idea of quitting drugs is a double edged sword for her- she compares it to losing a toxic best friend after many years- but with the implementation of Oregon’s Measure 110, the system would begin to treat her as a patient, rather than a criminal, a positive change. They also bring on a critic of the measure, John Haroldson, who at the time of the video’s filming in April of 2021, claims that he has already seen the measure being abused- primarily by dealers. Haroldson is followed up by Andy Seaman, who argues that forced rehabilitation does not work, and we cannot force people to quit drugs. On the contrary, guest Christina Avery tells her story of how she was ready to quit for years, and had spent a good amount of time within the Incarceration system, but never received support until she was actually pregnant. The segment ends with input from Sabrina and Christina simultaneously agreeing that drugs are already within our system, and while we cannot force people to get clean, we can heavily reduce the harm that they might cause by creating more accessible treatment and harm reduction.
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Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” speaks to the social struggles being experienced by American youth at the time. The song referenced a lack of social progress during the time period, speaking out against the prevalent racism and calling for people to fight back. While originally created for Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, its message has stood true to the test of time and continues to ring true for all aspects of social change.
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The DPA podcast with guest Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty offers illuminating insight into the importance of the passing of Measure 110. Although recorded and published over a year ago, in March of 2021, it still offers an important glimpse into the benefits of the measure. Hardesty references the billions of dollars used in our criminal justice system, and the lack of support for those who are processed within it in terms of recovery and rehabilitation- especially impacting our BIPOC communities. The podcast focused largely on the disproportionate impact of drug influenced incarceration and the war on drugs as a whole within the BIPOC communities, as well as the correlation between the Black Lives Matter movement and the efforts of decriminalization. They touched lightly on the importance of harm reduction towards the end of the podcast, however due to the time when the podcast was recorded and published there was little information given on how the city would move forward with this portion of the measure. We now know that they have opened one harm reduction clinic, and continue to sponsor and provide grants for others. One of the most important points made in the episode is how low level drug crimes are a part of a larger group of petty crimes- loitering, and public intoxication for example- are made to punish poverty, which disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities, and those who feel the worst impact of drug criminalization are those who are experiencing poverty or part of these marginalized communities.
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Blog Deliverable 4- responding to articles
Both articles I previously posted have strong opposing viewpoints from each other as to why or why not drug decriminalization has been beneficial, and what our goal should be moving forward. To begin with a more negative note, we see in Fox News’ article that current candidate for governor Betsy Johnson, running as an independent candidate, is strongly in favor of repealing measure 110. Johnson claims that one of the concerns that she hears most voiced by voters is “open air drug dealing,” alongside homelessness and crime- two issues that people tend to see as synonymous with drug decriminalization. Johnson is quoted as saying "If you want to go home in your basement and shoot up, fine. But we have turned this whole state into an open air drug market…Don't do it on the streets of Portland. Don't threaten other people. Don't become a menace or a hazard to yourself or others. Don't wield a knife. Don't deal drugs in front of our kids." [To make a few points on the claim in the article, I would like to point out that multiple independent studies from other states have shown that there has been no rise in crime in Portland since the passing of measure 110. I would also like to share that in my time living in downtown Portland, in an area with a higher rate of crime, not once have I seen ‘open air drug dealing’ occur, and in my conversations with friends and people who live in other areas of the city, including deep South and North East areas where there are also heavy rates of crime and houselessness, it is not something that is commonly experienced by any means. While I by no means want to diminish other people’s experiences, and just because it is not something I myself have experienced does not mean it is not true, it is important to point out that when listening to these claims to put in your own time and research to see if they are justified, or being used to push a certain position or viewpoint.]
On the contrary, Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Needs to Go Further, an article from the CATO institute, makes a few different points. Before going further into this, I would like to establish that not all claims in the article are ones I agree with, but there are several important points made in it. To begin, they make the point that while many critics ascertain that homicide and drug overdose rose after the passing of measure 110, the measure itself did not shrink the black market or offer any further regulations on drugs (to be expected considering that decriminalization and legalization are two different things), so many of the causes of violence and overdose did not disappear. They also point out the issue in the claim that 110 increased the demand for drugs in the state; even if demand had increased, supplying drugs themselves is still deemed illegal, so it has not necessarily become “easier” to access drugs in Oregon. They point out that fentanyl has played a large role in the increase in overdoses, highlighting the need for accessible testing kits and harm reduction. Finally, the article tells us that 5,400 less people were arrested in the 10 months after decriminalization, in comparison to the same time period in 2020. They point out that due to this decrease in arrests, fewer Oregonians will struggle securing jobs, loans, professional licensing, and other difficult to access necessities to live a successful life.
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Article for an opposing view point of drug decriminalization.
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Blog Deliverable 3.1-Interview with Ellen Wirshup
I was very lucky to have an insightful and thoughtful conversation with Ellen Wirshup, founder of the harm reduction initiative Project RED.
Disclaimer: The questions and answers below are not verbatim have been edited for length, relevancy, and/or clarity.
1.Although I learned about Project RED from the website, could you give us a rundown of what Project RED is and what the goal of the initiative is?
“Starting, the long term goal at least in my mind and a lot of other folks that work in harm reduction is that access or the accessibility to harm reduction supplies, overdose supplies, and just the general awareness that overdose prevention and harm reduction is everywhere in the city of Portland and really everywhere. I think that from my own personal perspective what Canada is doing with safer supply and safe injection sites is really phenomenal and to take that approach really shows that you're a part of a community. I worked in the restaurant industry for nine years, almost a decade, and I got sober in March of 2021 and what I saw happening around me was the increase in fentanyl being in so many other substances than you would necessarily assume it would be in. That increased to a point where I was losing community members, I was losing people in the industry. I also saw the stigma of people who are dying from overdoses as junkies in the street, which is terrible.
I think that we also noticed a shift that was changing rapidly, a kid might do a line of cocaine in the bar one night and the people around him might not realize he is experiencing an opioid overdose due to the fentanyl in his supply. The idea came to me one day after a friend of mine had died from an overdose. She died and then her boyfriend died the next day, they died from the same pressed pill. I was sitting with a friend and said ‘What if I could just get my hands on a bunch of narcan and just distribute it everywhere? Get it into every single bar, restaurant, strip club, coffee shop?’ I was then approached by a good friend of mine who works for the Alano club of Portland who wanted to create that as a job for me. This was especially important to me because working in so many different positions in the restaurant industry, it was something that was very far out from what I had really done, but also very relevant and important to me. I started receiving funding for narcan, and I started going door to door from the service industry to local businesses. People want to be prepared for the eventuality that someone might overdose on their premises. So the initial goal was mass accessibility of narcan or naloxone so we could get ahead of any and all opioid overdoses and create more knowledge in the community of what that looks like and how to help your neighbor. I grew from there rather quickly.”
2.Compared to what you initially started as, with the goal of distributing narcan, to what you have grown into, did you ever think that you would come this far?
“No, I mean honestly when I started I had a couple cases of narcan on myself, before I was even offered the position, and just started walking into bars. One of the first places I walked into and who actually got involved wanted to learn more. They were one of the first groups that reached out to me and asked me how to use it. It went from the intention of giving them narcan to doing full group training, educating on what overdoses might look like, we’ll talk about all the other aspects and it grew really quickly. Eater PDX interviewed me, and after that interview was published we just blew up, my inbox filled so quickly, which was amazing but also a little terrifying! It was great to see how many people and businesses really wanted to get involved. Some places don’t want it to be publicly known they carry narcan, which is totally fine, we just want them to have it and know how to administer it. I think there's this idea that if people know you have narcan on the premises people are more likely to consume substances on your premises is untrue, people are going to use substances wherever they can, which I don’t necessarily believe.”
3.Just out of curiosity, when did you start the initiative?
“I actually started it on August 30th, or 31st of this year! It’s crazy how quickly we’ve grown, but the need is there, and word of mouth has allowed us to expand.”
4.How much further do you think you guys are going to develop, beyond the lengths you've already gone to?
“ I think that long term goal it would be nice to have a fully functioning harm reduction unit in Portland, not just specific to Multnomah County but other counties as well. I think that if I were to want to turn it into a full blown non profit it would take another several months to over a year, which I would love to do. The Alano club of Portland has a lot of resources that are very helpful and easy for me to use right now, but long term there are a lot of moving pieces that would have to be put together. I would have to build a bigger name for myself in the community. There are also a lot of incredible people on the ground right now who are doing tremendous work in the houseless community, where we are seeing higher use, and their doing a great job doing that, we want to make sure that they continue to have the funding and resources to do this work, and I would like to be able to support them in doing that, and make sure they are continuing to get the resources that they need. It started with the intention of bringing it into service and entertainment industry, but the long term goal is to answer the question of ‘how can we have a community of people all over Oregon who really understand harm reduction, and that harm reduction is so much more than just having narcan and knowing how to use it, but also recognizing why people turn to substance use, it's about recovery and support programs, safe needle and injection sites, and changing the way we talk about use and harm reduction as a whole. So, I think there are a lot of branches to reach and some of them I don't even have a greater understanding of right now, but I do think that long term is mass accessibility to narcan, however we might make that available. Oregon actually has a shortage of narcan right now, so I'm looking into how to distribute the muscle injectable that is much more widely available, which some people do feel more comfortable using. Working with Portland Public Schools is a goal of mine, Los Angeles is currently doing that and I think that would be a great initiative to bring to PPS and something that they would be very interested in.”
5.Do you receive any support from Multnomah County, or other government entities through funding or supplies donations?
“Currently, in my program we have small, small grant fundings, and then programs through Vitality foundation (Pearl Jam’s foundation), they did a lot of funding for us. A lot of supplies I get are funded by the Alano club. To be honest, I don’t have the answer to that question specifically regarding government funding. I think that hopefully in the future as we continue to grow and make a name for ourselves we can apply for that sort of funding, but right now we are still at a pretty small scale still.”
6.You guys have worked with some bands and large venues, which is fantastic. Have you found that people are more receptive to the discussion of harm reduction when they are seeing support from the artists that they love- similar to how some people are influenced by bands and artists they love to start taking drugs to begin with?
“Yes, I think that the music community especially, we see a lot of [drug influenced] losses, and a lot of artists right now who are in recovery, who talk openly about being sober and the loss of friends due to overdoses. I know Pearl Jam talks a lot about the topic. [Talking specifically about their partnership with Pearl Jam] We traveled with them to about six different concerts over the United States, and then we also worked a festival. What I noticed was that the people who came up and spoke to us most often either had somebody in their life who was experiencing substance abuse or had someone in their life experiencing it who passed away, people who worked in the medical field, and then younger people who had heard about narcan and wanted to learn more. Also, certain states would receive more attention. A ton of people approached us in New Jersey, but not as many people did in Nashville. When we worked the Ohana fest, my boss went up and made a very quick two minute presentation on stage, and I think that made an impression. Before we had handed out very little narcan, but after the presentation there was such an influx of people who approached us. I think that what is cool is when the members of the band and the musicians themselves on stage are talking about it themselves, and how to stay safe. To answer your question, yes I think that having a lot of bands and musicians across the country talking about this is so helpful in getting the word out into the community. It really does help to have your favorite band say ‘hey also, we want to talk about this, we want you guys to stay safe, and this is something important to us’.”
7. It seems like a lot of the people who approach you are approaching you to help people around them, rather than themselves. Do you ever have people who contact you for their own sake, whether it be looking for supplies or a place to start?
“Absolutely. After we worked pearl jam, a lot of people from other cities or places have approached us for just that, and so I try to help them by sending them information for harm reduction places in their city, and connect them to that. There are also websites I will direct them to, but for individuals, I will do phone calls and talk to them. While the main focus is getting them into businesses, it is also all about the individual. There are a lot of people who have questions and don’t know who to approach, so I'm happy to talk to them about it. If they are asking about narcan I will send them some training videos and some narcan. We have a lot of people who approach us or walk by us because they believe that they don't need narcan. The realistic truth and idea is that everyone needs it, you never know when you will experience an opioid overdose. One of the business owners I have worked with was telling me about how there was a woman on the sidewalk who was overdosing, and five or six people walked by before someone stopped to help. A lot of what we talk to people about is being able to recognize the signs themselves. I’m guilty of it myself, it is easy to just walk by people who are on the streets, but it is so important for people to be able to recognize the subtle signs. It doesn’t have to be a lot, we’re all just walking and looking. We want to be a community again.”
The following question is reflective of Ellen’s personal thoughts and experiences, not those of Project RED or any affiliated organizations
8.This is a very broad question, but how do you think the state and county has done in terms of the implementation of Measure 110, especially with the ‘recovery and rehabilitation’ component of the measure, beyond just decriminalization?
“It is hard to say. What I will say as someone who has experienced substance abuse in their life, I had the drive and the will to the point where when I hit my bottom I was ready to recover. I was really, really lucky to know where those places to go were, and that I had enough people around me who had gone through recovery and who were sober. Not everyone else has those same resources. The decriminalization of these small amounts of harder core drugs was a great idea, and that gets us closer to the place we are looking for in terms of harm reduction. We know that in places like Canada who have implemented similar measures, there has been no increase in addiction or drug use. So, instead of people going to jail, prison, getting in trouble for having these drugs on them, that will change. I do think that from my own perspective, drug overdose is a policy failure. There are other laws that need to be changed and looked at at the same time that measure 110 was being passed, specifically paraphernalia laws. A lot of people think the passing of measure 110 led to more overdose deaths, but I don’t believe that to be the truth. It is important to not punish people for having substances on them, but not having the availability to test those substances is where we have fallen short a little bit. I feel that making mental health services, houseless shelters safer and more available, and having access to treatment and recovery centers without having to have health insurance or detox facilities, is really important, and that is what measure 110 money should be going towards. I’m not fully informed on what the money for the measure is going towards, but I do think that from my own personal standpoint, the places where people need the most help is the homeless communities, and it is important to give them a safe place to be if they are experiencing any sort of mental illness or drug addiction, where it is not always overflowing and where they are treated with kindness and compassion. Because they are not considered ‘upstanding citizens’ by many, those are the deaths that most often go unreported, even though they are often the most often impacted.”
9. As individual citizens, how do we bring more attention to the benefits of the measure and harm reduction as a whole, rather than the negatives that many people are currently seeing?
“A lot that falls into the area of talking to and about people who have experienced substance use with compassion, and with understanding. We know arresting people does nothing to change substance consumption, so talking about harm reduction on a greater scale, and making sure that everyone has available information and resources to use safely. No one could have told me to just stop using drugs. We saw that the D.A.R.E program and other similar programs like that were a complete failure, and what they do is they make people feel ashamed, and like they have to hide their use. The thing is, people also know that drugs are fun, and we also know that everyone is using them. The passing of something like measure 110 tells us that we don’t want to criminalize or shame people for having those substances, and as a community we need to ensure that when talking about this issue we are not doing those things. Harm reduction starts in the community, in the way that we talk about things. Saying that someone is experiencing an overdose, rather than overdosing, even the language there is really important. Compassion, from everyone, is where it starts, and changing the stigma for some drugs versus others. The stigma for people who use drugs like heroin or fentanyl is considerably more negative than partygoers who are using MDMA every weekend. Those are drugs that are deemed more acceptable by society. That language needs to change as well. Anyone who is struggling with addiction, any substance they are typically using to medicate themselves, is to create a feeling they cannot make themselves, regardless of what exactly they are using. They just want to feel good in some way.”
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Blog Deliverable 3- Stakeholders
The most important “stakeholder” in terms of drug decriminalization and harm reduction are those who are suffering from addiction themselves. These are the voices that deserve to be heard the loudest, and who are most important to listen to when discussing measure 110 and how to improve upon the steps already taken by the state. Above all else, these are the voices that need to be listened to. Another important stakeholder is harm reduction groups, who now have the ability to legally and safely provide harm reduction information and supplies to those who might need it without running the risk of being fined or worse due to the nature of their services. The general community will hold an interest in this problem, as many people are uneducated-willfully or otherwise- about what drug decriminalization should look like, largely due to the underwhelming response by the state in terms of recovery and rehabilitation. Those who are against the passing of the measure are outspoken over their fears over a rise in violent crime and homelessness due to this measure, however new data from a non profit research group called RTI international shows that there has been no rise in 911 calls since the passing of this measure (Lekhtman, 2022). Government bodies like the State of Oregon and Multnomah County also play a large role in the interest of this issue. For starters, there is a large amount of pressure for them to perform this policy ‘properly,’ from both those within the state and other states as well, some of which are looking to follow suit (Aldin, 2021). On another note, elected officials up for reelection who have supported this bill will have their candidacy largely influenced by how the general public views the implementation of the policy and the officials' involvement.
Adlin, B. (2021, January 13). New York, Virginia And Other States Consider New Drug Decriminalization Bills. Marijuana Moment. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-virginia-and-other-states-consider-new-drug-decriminalization-bills/
Lekhtman, A. (2022, October 19). No Rise in Portland 911 Calls After Oregon’s Measure 110, New Data Shows. Filter Magazine. https://filtermag.org/oregon-drug-decriminalization-911-calls/
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Blog Deliverable 2
As stated in my initial post, Measure 110- the Drug Treatment and Recovery Act- was passed in a landslide decision with 74%+ of Multnomah County voters in favor (Haas, 2020). After the passing of the act, current Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s office stated that “Past punitive drug policies and laws resulted in over-policing of diverse communities, heavy reliance on correctional facilities and a failure to promote public safety and health. It’s time to move beyond these failed practices, expand access to treatment and focus our limited law enforcement resources to target high-level, commercial drug offenses” (Haas, 2020). This brings forward important emphasis on certain areas of drug criminalization that are more harmful than helpful- especially noting the emphasis of the over-policing of diverse communities. Drug criminalization is based in racism, and we saw, and will continue to see in states that do not work towards decriminalization, that black men are incarcerated at a significantly higher rate than other races for non violent drug related crimes; in 2001, decades after the supposed war on drugs began, America had a higher incarceration rate for black man than apartheid South Africa (Boyd, 2001).
There are some professionals who feel as though Oregon should repeal the act, arguing that with none of the outside pressures from law enforcement to encourage people to get clean, the act has simply encouraged drug use and exacerbated addiction (Dooris & Mann, 2022). There are a few things that this article fails to acknowledge, however, including the cost of going through rehabilitation and rehabilitation services. That is a key component to rehabilitation, and without the support of friends and family, many of those suffering from addiction cannot afford it, hence the importance of services like Multnomah County Harm Reduction.
Multnomah County offers a Harm Reduction clinic, which offers services such as syringe exchanges, overdose kits that include a drug that can reverse opioid addictions called Naloxone, wound and abscess care, and referrals to treatment facilities (Syringe Exchange, 2022). While these clinics are great, there are a few flaws. These clinics and their partners primarily reside in Southeast Portland, however, with only one available location in Southwest Portland. Beyond just the county, there are several other services that offer harm reduction, such as Project RED, a harm reduction initiative from Alano Club of Portland in Northwest. The program was originally started by Ellen Wirshup, who started by distributing supplies in case of overdose, as well as educational material to help anyone who may face barriers to access to drug specific health services. She later began partnering with the Alano Club, where their primary focus is service and entertainment workers who are likely to fall into the traps of addiction, and lack the resources to make changes (ABOUT, n.d.). Alongside their original services, they also now offer information and help to those looking for professional help and treatment facilities. Another Portland area project focusing on harm reduction outreach is the Portland Peoples Outreach Project (PPOP). Similarly to Project RED, PPOP ddistributes clean syringes, pipes, Narcan, safer sex supplies, wound care, and a variety of other harm reduction services. PPOP is located in St. Johns area, and is need based, meaning that rather than having people drop off used syringes or equipment in order to receive clean supplies, they distribute to anyone who may be in need (Portland People’s Outreach Project, n.d.).
ABOUT. (n.d.). Project RED. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://projectredinitiative.org/about
Boyd, G. (2001, July). The War on Drugs is the New Jim Crow. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://www.aclu.org/other/drug-war-new-jim-crow
Dooris, P., & Mann, D. (2022, September 27). Experts Criticize Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Policy. KGW8. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/the-story/oregons-drug-decriminalization-flaws/283-6b5c022f-f437-4476-ba44-c6d163ca6d7b
Haas, R. (2020, December 18). Multnomah County prosecutor adopts drug decriminalization measure months early. Opb. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/17/multnomah-county-adopt-measure-110-drug-decriminalization/
Portland People’s Outreach Project. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2022, from http://www.portlandpeoplesoutreach.org/
Syringe Exchange. (2022, September 7). Multnomah County. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.multco.us/hiv-and-std-services/syringe-exchange-and-disposal
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Blog Post 1-Introduction
When we think of social issues being faced in American society today there are a few that stand out, that we see popping up throughout social and traditional media and in talking points used by politicians to gain the support of their constituents. These issues are basic- abortion and reproductive rights, LGBTQ+, racism, homelessness- the list goes on. Within each of these hot topic issues other topics tend to come up, topics that are issues within their own right but not awarded with the same public interest as the issues above. One of these issues is drug decriminalization, brought up primarily by people who love to complain about the homelessness epidemic (but not offer up any legitimate answers). The truth is drug decriminalization, when properly executed, has the potential to greatly benefit thousands of Oregonians.
Drug decriminalization is defined by the Drug Policy Alliance, which works with the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, as “...the removal of criminal penalties for drug law violations (usually possession for personal use)” (Approaches to Decriminalizing Drug Use). At a base level, this definition is spot on. In policy implementation, however, it also includes rehabilitation and recovery.18.22% of Oregonians experienced drug use disorder in 2020, ranking us second in the nation for percentage of the population with substance use disorders; in contrast, the American average is 14.54% (National Survey on Drug Use). In 2020 Oregonians voted for the Drug Treatment and Recovery Act, in which there was emphasis on decriminalization. Sadly, and frankly, the state has done a poor job in holding up the portions of the act listed in the name. While drugs have been decriminalized, there has been little implementation of rehabilitation and recovery services, essential parts to ensuring that we are actually helping those struggling with addiction, rather than helping them feed it.
By working to include those aspects of decriminalization, we can lower incarceration rates and help to reduce government spending and tax rates, reduce stigma and barriers to help support those struggling with addiction and allow them to feel comfortable getting help, and it ensures that law enforcement resources are used within actual issues and more appropriately (Drug Decriminalization). Not only this, but it will quite literally save lives. If we do not push forward with this, then we will continue in the inherently harmful loop we are currently in of focusing on punishment, rather than change. More lives will be lost or ruined, with no positive long term outcome. In my research I will be primarily focusing on where Oregon and Portland went wrong with its decriminalization and how it can improve based on successful models of decriminalization, such as Portugal’s. I will not be focusing on the “cons” of drug use, as that has been focused on for far too long and fails to create any sort of improvement or open discussion.
Approaches to Decriminalizing Drug Use and Possession. (2015, February). In United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Drug Policy Alliance. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugPolicyAlliance/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Approaches_to_Decriminalization_Feb2015_1.pdf
Drug Decriminalization. (n.d.). Drug Policy Alliance. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-decriminalization
National Survey on Drug Use. (2021, December). Oregon Data Extracted from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon. Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WYJOaDSrvHeKan2A0rOHgW9dsacrDvPP/view
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