Study says drug decriminalization in Oregon did not cause more overdose deaths

[barbaraann]

By Jonathan Levinson (OPB)
Sept. 27, 2023 3:51 p.m.

Three years after Oregon voters elected to decriminalize drugs, a new study has concluded that the first-in-the-nation law has not led to increased drug use or drug overdoses. The conclusion counters an increasingly common narrative that Oregon’s drug problem is unique in the country — and that decriminalization is to blame.

“Our analysis suggests that state decriminalization policies do not lead to increases in overdose deaths,” Corey Davis, an assistant clinical professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the study’s senior investigator, said in a statement.

Researchers at NYU, the Network for Public Health Law and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at 13 states with similar drug overdose rates to Oregon in the three years leading up to Measure 110 going into effect. They then compared overdose rates in Oregon to those same states in the first year after decriminalization.

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/27/oregon-drug-decriminalization-measure-110-overdose-deaths/

I'm mildly suprised.

[KPN]

1. As an Oregonian, this info is very helpful. Thanks for

posting. I was aware of the ballot measure proposals, but skeptical about them as they seemed to be based on “jumped to” conclusions by groups who opposed legalization in the first place. Legalization may not be the solution, but incarceration only worsened the situation in my view. You don’t beat a person while they’re down to any good purpose.

[barbaraann]

2. You're welcome.

Legalization is not a magic bullet, but it is IMHO certainly a part of the solution.