London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 12, 2026

Oregon has become the first state to decriminalize drug possession

Oregon has become the first state to decriminalize drug possession

Oregonians can no longer be criminally charged for possessing small amounts of illegal drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.
With the passage of Measure 110, Oregonians took America’s most significant step toward ending the 50-year war on drugs.

Oregon is set to become the first U.S. state to decriminalize possession of all illegal drugs after voters passed a ballot initiative in Tuesday’s election, according to projections.

With the passage of Measure 110, Oregonians can no longer be criminally charged for possessing small amounts of illegal drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. The punishment for these felony and misdemeanor drug possession offenses will now be a simple $100 fine. The initiative also redirects some taxes raised through sales of legal marijuana to finance a new voluntary treatment system for drug users.

This marks the nation’s most significant development toward ending the 50-year war on drugs launched by President Richard Nixon. That catastrophic policy, disproportionately waged against Black, Latino and economically disadvantaged communities, swept generations of young men into a revolving-door criminal justice system punishing them for illegal drug possession or sales while drug usage rates held steady and overdose deaths skyrocketed.

Oregon’s initiative had broad support from groups like the NAACP Portland, local Black Lives Matter chapters, physicians groups and AFSCME, the government workers union whose membership includes corrections officers. It attracted no organized opposition.

Drug Policy Action, a national drug reform group, led the campaign to pass the initiative. The group spent nearly $4.5 million on the effort, while working with state and local activists and supporters.

Supporters of drug decriminalization said they hope the passage of Oregon’s Measure 110 encourages other states to pass similar ballot initiatives or legislation that will ease the war on drugs. They aim to copy the success of the marijuana legalization movement, which has spread quickly across the U.S. over the past decade.

Oregon has been a leader in liberalizing its drug laws in recent years. The state legalized marijuana in 2014 and reduced many drug penalties from felonies to misdemeanors in 2017.
Comments

Oh ya 6 year ago
Any surprise that these are the same people that voted blue

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Reviews Nationwide Emergency Alert Tests After Systems Meet Reliability Targets
UK Seeks Faster Rail Links Across Northern Industrial Corridors
British Business Bank Allocates £150 Million for High-Growth Companies in Northern England
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Possible Amid Pay Dispute and £500 Million Savings Drive
UK Backs Short Extension of UN Sudan Sanctions Regime
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Defends Early Prison Release Reforms and Growth Strategy
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Effort to Circumvent Foreign Donation Rules
UK Analysts Warn Tax Rises or Spending Cuts May Be Needed to Preserve Fiscal Headroom
Jaguar Land Rover Plans Up to 4,000 Job Cuts in £1.7 Billion Cost-Saving Drive
UK Chancellor Warns of Difficult October Budget as Borrowing Costs Rise
UK Declares Israeli Occupation of West Bank Unlawful and Expands Sanctions
UK House of Commons Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for England and Wales
English Councils to Gain Power to Introduce Tourist Taxes by 2028
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Shadow Cabinet
Firefighters Make Progress Containing Major Wildfires in South Wales
John Lewis Partnership Reports £124 Million Loss
Study Says UK AI Data Centres Will Create Only a Quarter of Forecast Jobs
UK Government Considers Higher Industrial Water Prices Amid Supply Pressures
Andy Burnham Holds First Call With Donald Trump as UK Prime Minister
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record as Heatwaves Drive Hospital Admissions
Home Secretary Orders Police Crackdown on Far-Right Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
UK Supreme Court Rules Northern Ireland Religious Education Curriculum Breaches Human Rights Standards
Markets Price in Four Bank of England Rate Rises by Next Summer
House of Commons Prepares Free Vote on Assisted Dying Bill
UK Government Bans Trade With Israeli Settlements in Occupied Territories
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Artificial Intelligence Investment Supports Expansion
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister After Keir Starmer Resigns
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
UK Announces New Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Metropolitan Police Investigate Alleged Illegal Donations to Reform UK
UK Charges Wiltshire Man With Assisting Russian Intelligence
UK Orders Urgent Review After Air Traffic Failure Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
Merz Rebukes AfD Expansion in Saxony-Anhalt
King Charles Confirms Prince Harry and Meghan Will Remain Private Citizens
Labour Selects Former Child Refugee for By-Election in Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Foreign Private Equity Accelerates Takeovers of London-Listed Industrial Companies
×