Oregon’s Drug Policy Changes: Lessons Learned for Researchers and Policy Makers

• In Event: Progressive Drug Policies in the U.S. and U.K - Lessons Learned

Abstract

In 2021, Portland State University researchers began a 3-year project to examine impacts on the criminal justice system and public health and safety that can be attributed to changes in Oregon’s legal and strategic approaches to possession of controlled substances over time. Since 2013, Oregon has implemented three changes that reclassified and lowered the seriousness of low-level drug possession offenses, with multiple years between each policy change. A historical analysis of these targeted policy changes should consider variations in which the laws were passed, implemented, and evaluated.

Planning for Justice Reinvestment (2013) began one-year prior to legislative review and implementation, was supported by criminal justice agency stakeholders, and as expected, impacted carceral outcomes in Oregon. Similarly, drug defelonization (2017) was perceived as a non-controversial law change, was supported by agency stakeholders, and had the expected impact on PCS arrests and prosecution. Comparatively, drug decriminalization (2021) represented a major change in the law, passed via a citizen-led ballot initiative (versus the legislative process), and was implemented shortly after passage. The effects of decriminalization were largely overshadowed by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the criminal justice system and public health and safety outcomes. Examining and comparing these policy change efforts shed light on important considerations for drug policy researchers (e.g., data sharing and partnerships) and policy makers (e.g., importance of stakeholder buy-in and discussion). This paper will briefly summarize our empirical findings and highlight important lessons learned for other jurisdictions interested in similar policy changes.

Authors

• Kelsey Henderson, Portland State University

• Christopher M. Campbell, Portland State University

• Brian Renauer, Portland State University