Oregon Becomes First State to Decriminalize Possession of Drugs

Drugs by Michael Longmire is licensed under Unsplash

Possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other drugs will no longer serve as a reason for arrest in Oregon after a ballot measure decriminalizing them went into place Monday.

Instead of arrest, individuals found to be in possession of drugs would be subject to a $100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to addiction counseling, according to the Associated Press.

Those found with personal-use amounts of drugs would face a civil citation, “like a traffic ticket,” and not a criminal citation, according to Matt Sutton, a spokesman for the Drug Policy Alliance, which spearheaded the ballot initiative.

“Today, the first domino of our cruel and inhumane war on drugs has fallen, setting off what we expect to be a cascade of other efforts centering health over criminalization,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

Drugs by Michael Longmire is licensed under Unsplash

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