Just over a year after the democrat-controlled Oregon legislature passed measure 110 – a bill that decriminalized hard drugs – the number of overdoses in the state has predictably skyrocketed.
In 2019 – before the law went into effect – the Beaver State recorded a total of 280 drug overdoses – and by 2021 that number had more than doubled, rising a whopping 216% for a total of 607.
Most shockingly, the data for 2021 is incomplete and only covers 10 months. The final tally for 2021 will be significantly higher once it’s all said and done.
Enacted in February of 2020, measure 110 was billed as a way to provide assistance to drug users by easing fears of punishment when seeking out treatment help. The legislation placed extreme limits on drug possession crimes involving substances like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and more, setting the maximum fine for possession at $100. It also removed the possibility of felony or misdemeanor charges in most cases and included a staggering $300 million to be used on helping addicts break their addiction.
Unsurprisingly, the inevitable outcome came to pass. Formally stated, Newton’s third law is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put that together – and now, overdose deaths are rampaging out of control. Decriminalizing hard drugs in the state has clearly been nothing short of a tragedy. It has exasperated the problem and left the state with little in the way of solutions.
Newton’s time-tested law of nature held true, even in the face of radical leftist progressivism in Oregon.
Well, even the radical state officials are beginning to waver on their steadfast progressive agenda. Speaking to The Blaze, Oregon’s Secretary of State – Shemia Fagan – explained that the program has backfired in a massive way and has left the State reeling for another solution.
From Fagan, via The Blaze:
“‘When the voters of Oregon passed Measure 110, we did so because it was a change of policy in Oregon to improve the lives of people, to improve our communities, and in the years since, we haven’t seen that play out. Instead, in many communities in Oregon, we’ve seen the problem with drug addiction get worse,’ Fagan said.”
Considering the fact that the most recent data only shows up to October 2021, these people are going to have a lot more crow to eat when this year’s overdose numbers finally emerge.
And, in reality, the solution is as simple as enforcing the hard drug laws that were on the books, but programs like the one in Oregon have become commonplace in leftist areas across the country (not to mention Joe’s crackpipe goody bags) – add that to the fact we have more fentanyl than ever pouring across the wide-open Southern Border – and its no surprise to see these tragic outcomes.