The overdose epidemic, housing crisis, COVID pandemic and policing disparities have many Oregonians eager to find something to be hopeful about. That’s why we’re excited to tell you about Measure 110, a ballot measure that will help our state address many problems at once.
Measure 110, which we’ll be voting on in November, makes deep, structural changes to our approach to drug addiction in Oregon, establishing a more humane, equitable and effective approach. The measure comes at a time when we urgently need it, but victory won’t be easy.
As advocates for Oregon’s most vulnerable populations, with more than 40 years of combined experience, we’re urging you to do more than just vote yes. Please learn about the campaign and how you can help us win. We urgently need this victory right now more than ever.
Below are our individual reasons for supporting Measure 110.
LEARN MORE: What does Measure 110 do?
Haven Wheelock:
Oregon needs adequate drug addiction treatment and recovery services.
Our current approach to drug addiction is failing. As someone who has worked in overdose prevention for the past 15 years, I see the consequences every day. I see it with the deaths of the people I care about, in the tears of their loved ones, in the desperation for those who want help when none is available.
Our state ranks nearly last in access to drug addiction treatment. Waitlists to get treatment are far too long. In many parts of the state, there’s no treatment at all — even if you are one of the rare people who are fortunate to have enough money to pay for it, the “right” insurance plan, and access to transportation.
As a result, drug overdose is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in Portland. Statewide, nearly two people die of overdose every day, and overdose rates are rising rapidly, especially during the pandemic, when stress and financial uncertainty are driving people to use more drugs.
But instead of helping people who are addicted to drugs, we punish them, stigmatize them and make their lives harder.
Oregon arrests someone for drug addiction on average once every hour. These arrests break apart families and disproportionately harm LBGTQ communities as well as Black, Indigenous, Latinos and people of color.
The resulting criminal records can then follow people for the rest of their lives, making it harder for them to recover, stopping them from getting jobs, housing, professional licenses and more. Putting people in jail for addiction during the pandemic is especially dangerous right now because jails have become infection hotspots.
It’s time for a better approach. Measure 110 would establish more treatment, recovery and harm reduction services—at a time when we urgently need them.
Steve Rudman:
Addiction is a housing stability issue that Measure 110 would help address.
If you can’t pay rent or find a job, you live in an unsafe situation or you don’t know where you’re going to sleep at night, the resulting stress often contributes to more drug use and relapse.
For example, some people take drugs because they live on the sidewalk and need to stay awake at night to protect their belongings. Others take drugs because they are being abused and need to numb the pain. For people in such situations, the first step to helping them might be to provide them with a safer and affordable place to live. In addition, having access to addiction treatment services is often a key to ensuring housing stability and successful tenancy.
Drug addiction, like homelessness, has many causes, and those causes change all the time, with people using different drugs in different places at different times. What works in Medford may not be what works in Northeast Portland; what works in the winter may not make sense in the summer; what works in 2020 may not work in 2021.
Fortunately, Measure 110 accounts for this. It establishes an individualized approach that fits what each person needs and can include, for example, housing, treatment, peer support, harm reduction, and connections to other services. These services must be culturally responsive and trauma-informed, and they’ll be much more available, all over the state, at no cost to low cost.
We need a holistic approach to drug addiction, and this measure will help us get there.
In conclusion:
We both believe Measure 110 helps address many issues at once, and we’re not alone.
More than 110 organizations support Measure 110. We’ve never seen a campaign get this much support, from so many different groups. Why are so many groups engaged?
Although Measure 110 won’t solve everything, it’s an important step forward in addressing many other issues. Here are three examples:
● Racial disparities. Measure 110 would reduce racial disparities in drug arrests by 95%, according to an independent report released by the Oregon secretary of state.
● Responsible governance. It costs about $35,000 to arrest, adjudicate, incarcerate and supervise someone in a misdemeanor drug case. That’s a huge waste of money. Treatment costs less and reduces recidivism.
● High school absenteeism. Drug addiction among parents and kids is a major reason students drop out of school, which is why so many education advocates support Measure 110.
Please join us in donating, volunteering and advocating for Measure 110 and helping us win a better Oregon for everyone.
What does Measure 110 do?
Instead of arresting people for possession of small amounts of drugs, Measure 110 will greatly expand access to drug treatment and recovery services for anyone who wants and needs them, paid for by existing marijuana tax money. This includes:
1. Establishing Addiction Recovery Centers throughout the state to immediately assess the needs of people who use drugs and link them to treatment, care and services. These centers can be housed in or operated by existing qualified providers.
2. Increasing the availability of services, including:
- Treatment that is evidence-based, trauma-informed, culturally responsive and patient-centered.
- Peer support and recovery services so people are able to remain clean and sober.
- Housing (stabilizing and transitional) for people with substance use disorder.
- Harm reduction interventions including overdose prevention education, access to naloxone hydrochloride and other drug education and outreach.
3. Decriminalize low-level possession of all drugs, currently classified as misdemeanors, replacing them with a fine. These fines can be waived by being evaluated at Addiction Recovery Centers, which will be made available in all parts of the state, 24 hours a day. No change is made in the criminal code for delivery, manufacture and other commercial drug offenses.
Haven Wheelock is a homeless rights advocate with Outside In. Steve Rudman is the former executive director of Home Forward.
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