Month: January 2024

Oregon is continuing to get national attention for Measure 110, which voters approved in November 2020. It decriminalized possession of previously illegal drugs. Now, though, the backlash against Measure 110 threatens to make Oregon a poster child for what not to do about drugs. An article in the January 22, 2024 issue of The New Yorker describes the high hopes that accompanied the passage of Measure 110. In November, 2020, Oregon launched a historic experiment: the Drug Decriminalization and Addiction Treatment Initiative, known as Measure 110. Approved by fifty-eight per cent of voters, it made Oregon the first state to decriminalize…

I tried to make the title of this blog post convey an enticing peek into what's going to be focused on during the 35-day short legislative session in this even numbered year, which begins February 5. But anyone who follows Oregon politics at all closely won't be surprised by what the Speaker of the House, Democrat Dan Rayfield, and House Minority Leader, Republican Jeff Helfrich, agreed would be the session priorities at a Salem City Club meeting today: Big Decisions -- A Preview of the 2024 Oregon Legislative Short Session. Addressing the shortcomings of Measure 110, which largely decriminalized the…