Addiction is not a crime. We need real solutions.

As our communities grapple with the failure of leadership to address our homeless crisis, powerful special interests are putting forward measures that will repeal Measure 110. We need to speak out! Contact your lawmaker today.

Here’s what the M110 repeal would do:

Increase jail crowding when Oregon is experiencing a severe shortage of public defenders, leading to delays in prosecution for all crimes — meaning that even some people charged with crimes are simply released.
Divert dollars away from treatment and back into the expensive criminal system when already less than half of those who enter jail needing mental health services are getting them today.
Increase overdose risk. People are 27 times more likely to die from drug overdose after leaving jail or prison.
Increase racial disparities. Portland police arrest Black people at a per capita rate 4.3 times higher than white people, the fifth worst in the country
Reinstitute the ineffective and harmful practices of the past that resulted in arrests while addiction rates skyrocketed
Leave us in the current situation where police aren’t enforcing the laws already on the books
Fail to reduce addiction. Fail to reduce homelessness. Fail to make our streets safer.

Addiction is not a crime. We need real solutions.

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Your Letter

The testimony from addiction experts and behavioral health providers in the recent Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response was clear: Oregon’s treatment system is in a crisis, and we need real solutions for our communities who are struggling after decades of underfunding for services.

Testifiers were unanimous about what we need: 
          
• More treatment, outreach, and addiction services. 
• More behavioral health workers.
• More rapid response services on our streets. 
• More resources for local communities.
• More affordable housing and shelter.

And here’s what testifiers said will NOT solve our problems:

• Arresting people for addiction
• Mandating treatment when people aren’t ready
• Overcrowding local jails
• Diverting police away from serious crimes

I strongly urge you to listen to addiction experts and providers who are working closely with their local law enforcement to get people connected to care without fear of arrest. Recriminalizing addiction is not an effective strategy, especially when we already have long waiting lists for treatment. No one should be arrested because treatment wasn’t available.

Measure 110 was never intended to solve issues like homelessness, mental health, and crime, which predated its passage and continues to impact our communities.  It is imperative that our leaders work to increase access to care rather than reverting to a failed War on Drugs. We have over 50 years of evidence that punitive measures do not work when it comes to drug-related issues.

We need to move beyond scare tactics and fearmongering. It’s not right to expect police to solve every social problem, from kids skipping school to mental illness to homelessness to addiction. It's time for solutions that let mental health and drug treatment professionals help people who need and want treatment, freeing up police to focus on violent crime.

Thank you to the Oregon legislature for taking such a thoughtful approach, and I urge you to resist the ineffective and harmful recriminalization of addiction.

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