Starting this Sunday, Oregon will once again recognize drug possession as a crime, reversing the state’s previous stance on decriminalization. In 2020, Oregon took a groundbreaking approach with Ballot Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs, issuing a $100 ticket that could be waived in lieu of a needs assessment. This change was rooted in shifting the paradigm from punishment to rehabilitation. However, as OPB and ProPublica highlighted, failures to implement the measure effectively led to increased visible drug use and a rise in overdose deaths.