Eradicating felony penalties for easy drug possession seems to don’t have any important affect on deadly overdoses, in keeping with a brand new examine revealed by the American Medical Affiliation that analyzed the results of decriminalization insurance policies in Oregon and Washington State.
“Our evaluation means that state decriminalization insurance policies don’t result in will increase in overdose deaths,” stated Corey Davis, an adjunct professor on the Division of Inhabitants Well being on the New York College (NYU) Grossman College of Medication and a senior investigator for the brand new report.
The findings, revealed Wednesday within the journal JAMA Psychiatry, come on the heels of one other latest study co-authored by Davis that discovered that decriminalization within the two states resulted in lowered arrests for drug possession and didn’t result in an uptick in arrests for violent crimes.
“These two research present that drug decriminalization measures in Oregon and Washington lowered arrests and didn’t enhance overdose deaths,” Davis stated. “Taken collectively, these findings sign lowered hurt to individuals who use medication and probably their communities as nicely.”
“Authorized modifications to take away or lower felony penalties for drug possession usually are not related to the deadly drug overdose fee 1-year put up implementation.”
Researchers examined a yr’s value of post-decriminalization knowledge on overdose deaths from the 2 states, evaluating them to regulate teams consisting of states with related overdose charges. “After the investigators discovered no statistical significance in overdose demise charges between Oregon, Washington, and the management group,” says an NYU medical college release, “the investigators performed a sensitivity evaluation incorporating an extra seven months of provisional knowledge. The findings didn’t change.”
Briefly, deadly overdose charges in Oregon and Washington have been roughly the identical as what would have been anticipated in absence of the coverage change.
Authors of the brand new report acknowledged the necessity for additional examine on medium- and long-term results of decriminalization in addition to how lowered penalties affect completely different racial and ethnic teams.
“This examine is a crucial first take a look at the affect of drug decriminalization on overdose, however continued monitoring is required,” stated Spruha Joshi, an epidemiology professor on the College of Michigan College of Public Well being and a co-lead creator of the examine.
Joshi famous that in Oregon, for instance, the state’s decriminalization legislation additionally drastically elevated funding for therapy and restoration companies—cash that didn’t exit till after the researchers’ examine concluded.
“Legal guidelines decriminalizing drug possession in Oregon and Washington weren’t related to modifications in deadly drug overdose charges.”
“Along with decreasing penalties for drug possession, Measure 110 in Oregon directed a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} of hashish income to rising entry to programming geared toward decreasing overdose danger. Nonetheless, these funds weren’t distributed till after our examine interval,” Joshi stated. “It will likely be essential to proceed to observe overdose charges as extra knowledge turn out to be out there to evaluate the affect of the distribution of those funds.”
The report notes that Oregon’s rollout of roughly $287.3 million for behavioral well being companies “was gradual and most was distributed between April and September 2022, after our examine interval.”
“Funded programming has the potential to lower dangerous drug-related behaviors and assist pathways to dependancy restoration, which may scale back nonfatal and deadly drug overdose,” researchers wrote.
This examine is bigger proof you can’t blame a neighborhood coverage for a nationwide situation.
Overdoses rose in Oregon, however not more than states that punished individuals who use medication.
Oregon invested tens of millions in dependancy companies & social helps whereas others locked up folks.
— Drug Coverage Alliance (@DrugPolicyOrg) September 27, 2023
Whereas the study evaluates Oregon and Washington collectively, the character of decriminalization within the two states was markedly completely different.
In Oregon, voters handed Measure 110 in 2020 to take away felony penalties for drug possession and increase entry to drug therapy and restoration companies.
In Washington, in the meantime, felony penalties for easy possession disappeared in late February 2021 as the results of an sudden state Supreme Court docket determination that overturned the state’s felony drug possession legislation. Lower than three months later, lawmakers once more criminalized possession as a misdemeanor.
In Could of this yr, Washington additional adjusted its legal guidelines to extend felony penalties and additional fund therapy applications. Final week the Seattle Metropolis Council handed a neighborhood measure authorizing prosecution of straightforward drug possession in addition to public consumption.
Authors of the brand new examine contend that regardless of the less-than-three-month interval of formal decriminalization, Washington’s new drug possession legislation is “markedly completely different” than the earlier statute as a result of it “reclassifies most drug possession crimes from felonies to misdemeanors and considerably reduces the kinds of objects that qualify as drug paraphernalia.” It additionally encourages legislation enforcement to divert instances for evaluation, therapy or different companies apart from felony prosecution.
Washington and Oregon had the thirty third and thirty fourth highest deadly overdose charges within the nation, respectively, in keeping with U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention knowledge from 2021, the latest out there.
Amid the continuing overdose disaster and visual homelessness, public assist for decriminalization in Oregon is flagging. Whereas 58 p.c of voters forged ballots in favor of Measure 110, polling not too long ago launched by opponents discovered that 61 p.c of respondents now really feel the measure has been a failure.
Earlier this month, a coalition of liberal and conservative enterprise and political leaders unveiled a poll proposal that will undo core components of Measure 110 by recriminalizing possession of sure medication and creating a brand new offense for public consumption of unlawful substances.
Legislators already made some changes to Oregon’s decriminalization legislation this yr, passing a package deal of reforms in June to supply an oversight council with extra employees and administrative assist from the Oregon Well being Authority (OHA).
A January audit of the decriminalization measure by the secretary of state discovered that OHA wanted to supply extra assist and higher coordination. It concluded on the time that it was too quickly to inform whether or not Measure 110 applications may curb the state’s drug issues.
Photograph courtesy of Jernej Furman.