Executive summary
In the face of a national fentanyl crisis and continued skepticism toward the effectiveness of drug-criminalization policies, some U.S. states and municipalities have begun to explore alternatives. The most notable example was in 2021 when Oregon passed Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of all illicit drugs and attempted to adopt a health-oriented approach to illicit drug policy. While drug decriminalization is more common in Europe, Oregon is the first exposure to the policy for many Americans. This brief is meant to provide a comprehensive review of decriminalization as a policy and research results from varying localities that have adopted a decriminalization model. Decriminalization data discussed include drug treatment, drug use rates and behaviors, criminal activity, and varying economic impacts on labor and housing.
These topics are also examined in the context of criminalization and total legalization. Legalization has yet to be implemented in any large-scale modern context, so our expected results are largely reliant on economic theory. One potential benefit of legalization over decriminalization to note is the elimination of illegal drug trafficking, lowering rates of organized crime, and reducing the presence of adulterants in drug production. Criminalization, however, has been found to be largely ineffective in curtailing the illegal market and actively contributes to negative stigmatization surrounding drug use, users, and treatment.
While research on decriminalization draws on different countries and localities with varying models, there are some consistent outcomes. Decriminalization is generally found to reduce overdose rates, to not lead to greater drug use rates, to improve health outcomes in relation to the spread of disease via intravenous drug use, and leads to more accessible drug and health treatment. However, these outcomes are largely dependent on the effectiveness of coinciding treatment service programs and structures; decriminalization on its own is unlikely to produce such positive results.
The potential impacts on crime and poverty are more inconclusive, as the bulk of research surrounding decriminalization focuses directly on drug use and drug treatment outcomes such as general usage rates, problematic use, treatment effectiveness, and treatment accessibility. The currently available literature and research suggests decriminalization could improve labor-market participation, drive down housing costs, mitigate public health expenditures, and reduce different forms of drug-use-driven crime following decriminalization. While these improvements are largely theoretical and follow-up research is necessary to determine the veracity of these expectations, available data from Oregon during the period of drug decriminalization do not refute these expectations.
Full Brief: Drug decriminalization in Oregon: Measure 110’s impacts compared to other countries’ systems