Oregon Measure 110 was a 2020 ballot initiative that made Oregon the first state to decriminalize personal possession of controlled substances, replacing criminal charges with a $100 fine or an optional health screening and redirecting cannabis tax revenue into addiction services. It took effect on February 1, 2021, and the Oregon Legislature reversed the decriminalization piece in 2024, making possession a misdemeanor again as of September 1, 2024. The treatment funding created by the measure is still flowing.
What the Measure Actually Did
Voters approved the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act on November 3, 2020, by 58.5% to 41.5%.1OregonLive.com. 2020 General Election Measures Starting February 1, 2021, personal possession of controlled substances was reclassified from a misdemeanor or felony down to a “Class E violation,” punishable by a $100 fine or completion of a health assessment at an Addiction Recovery Center.2Oregon State Legislature. Background Brief on Measure 110
The reclassification applied only up to defined quantity thresholds. Less than 1 gram of heroin, less than 2 grams of methamphetamine or cocaine, and less than 2 grams of MDMA fell within the Class E violation. Amounts above those thresholds remained a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail.3OregonDefense.com. Oregon’s Ballot Measure 110 – Part 2 Drug delivery, manufacturing, and possession of larger quantities were never decriminalized.
A cited person could avoid the $100 fine by calling a 24/7 hotline and completing a health screening. Participation was voluntary, and the law barred any penalty for failing to appear in court on the citation.
Where the Treatment Money Came From
Measure 110 created the Drug Treatment and Recovery Services Fund, financed by redirecting cannabis tax revenue. The measure capped the previous distributions to cities, counties, schools, state police, and behavioral health services at $90 million per two-year budget cycle, sending everything above that cap into the new fund.4OPB. Oregon House Bill 2089 – Reroute Some Measure 110 Drug Treatment Funds
The fund pays for Behavioral Health Resource Networks in every Oregon county, which coordinate screenings, behavioral health assessments, peer counseling, harm reduction, low-barrier treatment, and transitional and supportive housing.5Oregon Health Authority. BHRN Program – Measure 110 A 17-member Oversight and Accountability Council was set up to distribute grants and monitor the recovery centers.2Oregon State Legislature. Background Brief on Measure 110
The money moved slowly at first. Only $33 million was awarded in 2021, with the bulk of an initial $270 million allocation not going out until between June and September 2022.6Urban Institute. Examining Oregon’s Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act The Drug Policy Alliance attributed the delays to inadequate agency support for the Council, staff turnover at the Oregon Health Authority, and OHA’s failure to take the leadership role the law contemplated.7Drug Policy Alliance. What Really Happened With M110 By the end of 2025, approximately $800 million had been awarded to providers since 2021, including $391 million in 2025 alone.8Oregon Secretary of State. Audit 2025-29 – OHA
Why the Citation System Broke Down
The citation piece of the law worked poorly. Between February 1, 2021, and August 31, 2024, 10,122 Class E citation cases were filed across 35 Oregon circuit courts. Of the 8,842 cases that ended in conviction, 7,925 people — about 90% — failed to appear. Only 85 cases resulted in a verified substance use assessment, and 704 were dismissed.9Oregon Judicial Department. BM110 Statistics Because the law forbade penalties for failing to appear, there was no enforcement lever behind the fine.
The hotline fared no better. As of December 2023, police had issued more than 7,000 citations while only a few hundred people had called.10NPR. Oregon Pioneered a Radical Drug Policy – Now It’s Reconsidering By mid-2024, the hotline, operated by a Boston-based nonprofit under a $2.7 million contract, was fielding about 24 calls per quarter from people with Measure 110 citations, working out to roughly $10,700 per call.11The Oregonian. As Calls to Measure 110 Hotline Dwindle, Oregon Pays Firm $10K Per Call to Answer
Overdose Deaths and the Fentanyl Question
Oregon overdose deaths climbed sharply while Measure 110 was in effect. Annual deaths rose from 824 in 2020 to 1,189 in 2021, 1,383 in 2022, and 1,833 in 2023. In 2024, deaths fell to 1,544, a 16% decline and the first annual decrease since 2016.12Oregon Health Authority. 2025 Oregon Opioid Overdose Report
Whether the law itself drove those deaths is contested. A 2022 University of Toronto working paper by economist Noah Spencer used a synthetic control method to estimate that Measure 110 caused 181 additional overdose deaths in the final 11 months of 2021, a 23% increase over the expected figure.13University of Toronto. Does Decriminalization Cause More Drug Overdose Deaths A 2024 study led by researchers including Michael Zoorob challenged that analysis, arguing it failed to account for the arrival of illicitly manufactured fentanyl in Oregon’s drug supply. After adjusting for fentanyl market saturation, the association between Measure 110 and overdose deaths disappeared.14medRxiv. Drug Decriminalization, the Introduction of Fentanyl to Drug Markets, and Fatal Overdose in Oregon
A Portland State University study looking at Oregon drug trends from 2008 to 2024 reached a similar conclusion, identifying the COVID-19 pandemic and fentanyl saturation as the primary drivers and noting that fentanyl’s arrival in Oregon “coincided exactly” with the implementation of Measure 110. In every state where fentanyl saturated the market, overdose deaths rose regardless of drug policy.15OPB. Measure 110 Overdose Deaths Oregon
Arrests and Racial Disparities
Arrests for drug possession dropped sharply. A 2025 RAND study found that Measure 110 reduced drug possession arrest rates by 67.8% overall, with larger reductions for Black individuals (75.6%) and Hispanic individuals (77.5%) than for white individuals (66.2%). The gap in drug possession arrest rates between Black and white Oregonians fell by 79.5%, and the study found no evidence that police substituted disorder arrests for drug possession arrests targeting Black individuals.16RAND Corporation. The Impact of Drug Possession Decriminalization on Arrests
Disparities did not disappear. Black Oregonians received 4.6% of Measure 110 citations while making up 2.3% of the state’s population.17Prison Policy Initiative. Oregon 110
Why the Portugal Comparison Didn’t Hold
Measure 110 was often described as modeled on Portugal’s 2001 decriminalization, but the mechanisms differed. In Portugal, police refer people caught with drugs to a “dissuasion commission” of a legal official and two health or social service professionals, which decides whether someone needs treatment or a civil penalty like a suspended driver’s license. Oregon relied on a $100 ticket and a voluntary hotline, with no mechanism to compel engagement with services.18OPB. Oregon Measure 110 Portugal
Portugal also spent the 1990s building out treatment clinics and harm reduction services before decriminalizing. Oregon ranked last among all 50 states in access to substance abuse treatment when Measure 110 passed, and treatment funding did not begin flowing until roughly 18 months after the law took effect.19Politico. Oregon Drug Criminalization Portugal
How Recriminalization Works Under HB 4002
In March 2024, the Legislature passed House Bill 4002, recriminalizing possession of small amounts of controlled substances as a “drug enforcement misdemeanor.”20Oregon State Legislature. HB 4002 Overview Governor Tina Kotek signed the bill on April 1, 2024, and the new possession penalties took effect on September 1, 2024.21OPB. Oregon Starts Drug Possession Recriminalization
The maximum sentence is 180 days in jail for violating probation. District attorneys must offer a conditional discharge — probation combined with treatment — in place of trial, and criminal records are automatically expunged after probation or completion of jail time.22Oregon Health Authority. HB 4002 OHA Fact Sheet The law also created the Oregon Behavioral Health Deflection Program, which funds county programs that let law enforcement steer people into treatment rather than the criminal system. Prosecutors can pursue charges if someone refuses to participate.21OPB. Oregon Starts Drug Possession Recriminalization
Twenty-eight of Oregon’s 36 counties applied for deflection funding.23PBS NewsHour. Oregon Law Rolling Back Drug Decriminalization Takes Effect Between September 1, 2024, and early March 2025, grantees reported 894 total referrals, 560 enrollments, and 45 completions, with 396 still in the program.24Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. 2025 Behavioral Health Deflection Best Practices Report Implementation varied significantly by county, and the state faced a concurrent public defender shortage and an estimated shortfall of 3,700 treatment beds.
What the 2025 State Audit Found
A December 2025 audit by the Oregon Secretary of State delivered a harsh assessment. Despite the roughly $800 million awarded to providers since 2021, the audit found the Oregon Health Authority “has not collected sufficient information to determine the number of people served or outcomes from the program.”8Oregon Secretary of State. Audit 2025-29 – OHA Provider reporting double-counted services across categories such as harm reduction, peer support, and housing, with no way to tell whether the same person or different people were involved.25OPB. Measure 110 Programs Substance Use Treatment Audit
Auditors also found that Measure 110 services stayed isolated from the broader behavioral health system, including Medicaid, producing fragmentation and duplication. A review of 60 grant applications totaling $156 million found that 62% lacked clear evidence of culturally or linguistically specific services, despite the measure’s equity focus. Deflection programs were rolled out inconsistently across counties, creating what the auditors called “inequitable access to services.”26Oregon Secretary of State. Audit Report 2025-29
OHA agreed with some recommendations but rejected a call to conduct a baseline analysis of the law’s impact on overdose rates, treatment access, and housing, arguing that the concurrent arrival of fentanyl made “any valid comparison” impossible. All Measure 110 grantees are required to submit data through new integrated systems by November 2026.25OPB. Measure 110 Programs Substance Use Treatment Audit
Oregon’s decriminalization experiment lasted about three and a half years in practice. The treatment funding it created still operates under a changed governance structure — Senate Bill 610 transferred grant-awarding authority from the Oversight and Accountability Council to OHA effective January 1, 2026, leaving the Council in an advisory role.5Oregon Health Authority. BHRN Program – Measure 110 Whether that spending has improved treatment access and outcomes is, by the state auditor’s account, a question Oregon’s own data cannot yet answer.