‘The Evergreen’: Drug decriminalization up close

Just over three years since Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 110, elected officials want to repeal key elements, blaming the law for open drug use and soaring overdoses. But it’s their own hands-off approach that isn’t working, advocates say.

Under Ballot Measure 110, instead of arresting drug users, police give them a citation and point them towards treatment. Over three years in, there's a debate about whether it's succeeded or failed.

State legislators will spend much of the next month debating whether to scrap Measure 110, Oregon's voter-approved effort at drug decriminalization. Their decision will directly impact the first responders who deal with drug addiction on the streets of Portland. But has decriminalization caused the spike in overdoses and public use, or has it simply made the crisis impossible to ignore?

The mobile medication pilot program will also connect people to longer-term recovery and treatment services. It’s a novel approach public safety leaders hope will help save lives amid a flood of illicit fentanyl, the latest phase of an opiate epidemic that’s surged across the country.