DECRIMINALIZATION

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Karen Hadley in Drug-Related News
October 31, 2024

Oregon Reverses its Position on Drug Legalization As More Synthetic Drugs Pour Into the West Coast

Oregon has reversed its drug decriminalization law after three years, as rising homelessness, overdoses, and the influx of powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl and xylazine threatened to overwhelm the state. The new law recriminalizes most drugs and aims to push users into treatment or impose penalties, signaling a shift in policy to address the growing crisis.

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Karen Hadley in News
February 28, 2024

Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Law Fails to Save Lives

The article examines the aftermath of Oregon’s Measure 110, which decriminalized personal quantities of drugs with the aim of redirecting funds toward addiction recovery services. There are many signs the law has failed to meet its objectives, with few individuals seeking help despite citations, increased crime and drug use, and a surge in fentanyl-related deaths. Now, the state has begun to shift its opinions and actions toward recriminalization.

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Karen Hadley in News
April 9, 2022

Oregon’s Big Drug Decriminalization Gamble

Oregon decriminalized personal-use quantities of drugs in 2020 with the intention that this new law would help drug users go to rehab rather than jail. This has turned out to be a big gamble that the State was possibly not ready for.

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Ren in Drugs and Crime
September 7, 2021

Treat Addiction, Don’t Penalize It

Though the War on Drugs has been waged in the U.S. for 50 years, it has never been effective in curbing drug addiction. In fact, America's drug problem has only gotten worse.

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Karen Hadley in Legislation
March 3, 2021

Decriminalization Not a Silver Bullet For Americans

With Oregon being the first state to decriminalize all drugs, it’s time to look at how decriminalization can—or can’t—be done in a way that does NOT increase deaths resulting from drug abuse.

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Ren in Legislation
January 10, 2021

More States Move to Legalize Cannabis

The Presidential race was not the only attention-grabbing aspect of the November 2020 election. In an historic move, several states, even red states, moved to legalize cannabis for recreational use. What does this mean for the health of those states' populations? And for the future?

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Ren in Legislation
December 31, 2020

Oregon Decriminalizes Drugs—What This Means for the Future

In an effort to keep addicts out of jail, Oregon just voted to decriminalize possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone, and other hard drugs. However, many criticize the law for legalizing harmful substances.

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Ren in Drug Education
July 24, 2019

Multiple Cities Move to Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms—Why It’s a Mistake

It’s no coincidence that the strides towards the legalization of psychedelics fit right into the footsteps left by recent efforts to legalize marijuana. It seems that our country is edging closer to drug legalization being more broadly accepted. But we know how harmful drugs are, so why is this new wave of legalization expanding the potentially harmful effects of an ever increasing cornucopia of substances.

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Ren in Legislation
June 12, 2019

Decriminalization, Legalization, or Diversion—What’s the Right Solution?

As our great nation continues to struggle with a sweeping drug problem, the American people have attempted to create new ways and means of addressing that problem. Not all such approaches have been successful or sensible.

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