Voters in Oregon will have a chance to approve a bill that expands access to addiction treatment with funds generated by existing marijuana tax money and decriminalizes certain drug-related offenses in November.
If approved, ballot measure 110, known as the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, would:
- Establish addiction recovery centers across the state and link residents to treatment services. The centers could be housed in or operated by existing providers who qualify.
- Increase the availability of treatment, peer support and recovery services, housing for persons in recovery, and harm reduction interventions
- Reclassify low-level drug possession misdemeanors and replace them which a fine, which could then be waived after an evaluation at a state addiction recovery center. Existing criminal penalties for delivery, manufacture and other commercial drug offenses would remain in place, as would classifications of crimes associated with substance use.
About $45 million in revenue collected from Oregon’s marijuana tax would be applied toward treatment, recovery and harm reduction services, Yes on 110, a group of supporters for the bill, said on its website.
Programs launched as a result of the bill would be subject to state-conducted financial and performance audits, and an oversight and accountability council, consisting of individuals who work in drug treatment and recovery, would also be created.