Oregon Becomes the First State to Decriminalize Deadly Drugs
After a 59-41% vote as of early Wednesday morning, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize heroin, cocaine and meth, per a report from the Associated Press.
The "Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act" will move Oregon's drug policy from a punitive, criminal approach over to "a humane, cost-effective, health approach."
"People suffering from addiction are more effectively treated with health care services than with criminal punishments," the bill states. "A health care approach includes a health assessment to figure out the needs of people who are suffering from addiction, and it includes connecting them to the services they need."
Drug offenders will no longer be treated as criminals. Instead, they will now be offering them addiction services funded by marijuana tax revenue, which is more than $100 million a year in the state.
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