A New York Times podcast, The Daily, discusses the story of Oregon’s disastrous policy of decriminalizing hard drugs and of the public pressure just three years later to reverse course.
The thinking behind the policy, explains Times reporter Mike Baker, was, “If an officer comes across someone on the sidewalk using a drug, the goal was for that officer to not arrest but to issue a citation of a $100 fine.” He continues, “Instead of sending that person to jail, they could avoid that fine by calling a phone number, getting a health assessment, and potentially being directed to a treatment program that could help them.”
However, “pretty soon, it becomes clear that very few people are calling this state hot line to be guided into treatment.” What ensues instead is “a sense of lawlessness.”
Shocking, isn’t it?