It’s time to fix and improve Ballot Measure 110
House Republicans Are Committed to Hearing All Potential Solutions to Fix
Measure 110
Ballot Measure 110 was approved by Oregon voters in 2020. The measure decriminalized certain drugs and dedicated cannabis taxes with the promise to fund treatment. Since then, with overdoses and addiction on the rise and open-air drug use rampant on city streets, it’s clear Measure 110 isn’t working as promised. Publicly available polls indicate voters want the law substantially changed or even repealed.
We want to deliver on the broken promise of Measure 110 – more treatment, more quickly to more people. There are two ways change can happen – the legislature can act quickly to fix and improve Measure 110 when they meet in February – or sooner in special session. Or voters can fix Measure 110 on the November 2024 ballot. With more people dying and becoming addicted each day and drug-related crimes on the rise, the legislature should act immediately. If they do not, voters will take the lead to fix Measure 110 on the November 2024 ballot.
THE CHANGES NEEDED TO FIX AND IMPROVE MEASURE 110:
1. Prohibit the use of hard drugs in public places.
2. Make possession of lethal drugs like fentanyl, meth, and heroin a crime again.
3. Replace voluntary with required addiction treatment.
4. Prioritize diversion, treatment, and recovery over prosecution and jail.
5. Maintain cannabis taxes for expanded prevention, treatment, and recovery; improve oversight and accountability.
6. Enhance penalties for drug dealing.
WHAT THE INITIATIVE DOES:
▪ Creates new crime of using unlawful drugs in public as an A Misdemeanor.
▪ Allows local jurisdictions to adopt and enforce laws prohibiting the use of illegal drugs.
▪ Returns unlawful possession of drugs to an A Misdemeanor as it was prior to 2020. ▪ Provides multiple pathways for diversion of unlawful possession of drugs.
▪ Provides for automatic expunction of misdemeanor drug possession conviction upon successful completion of treatment and probation.
▪ Adds misdemeanor theft cases to those funded for supervised probation, thus providing funding for treatment and accountability.
▪ Transfers authority over Measure 110 funding to the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission (ADPC) and directs the Commission to issue grants to counties, cities, school districts, tribes, and behavioral health recovery networks:
✓ Requires grant applications be approved by the local alcohol and drug policy commission.
✓ Requires grants to support prevention, treatment, recovery support, individual harm reduction, and community harm reduction services that are proven to reduce addiction and addiction-related crime.
✓ Prioritizes grants for expanding detox facilities, sobering centers, and treatment facilities and services statewide.
✓ Prioritizes optional community harm reduction programs, such as community courts, diverting persons to detox and treatment, and shutting down open-air drug dealing.
▪ Enhances penalties for drug dealing:
✓ Creates new crime of possession of a tableting or encapsulating machine as a C Felony.
✓ Requires a sentence of 36 months for repeat drug dealing convictions with 5 years.
✓ Requires a sentence of 58 to 130 months for drug dealing resulting in death, with a lesser sentence required or allowed under certain circumstances (“Taylor’s Law” from 2023 HB 2906).
✓ Provides that attempted dealing includes possession with intent to deal (“Boyd fix” from 2022 HB 4135).
This information was provided by those in support of a fix to Ballot Measure 110.
Leave a Reply