Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 110, a groundbreaking policy that decriminalized possession of small quantities of controlled substances and redirected cannabis tax revenues to treatment and recovery centers. This article examines the passage, implementation, and rollback of Measure 110 with HB 4002, enacted in 2024. Drawing on state audits, legislative records, and public health data to contextualize Measure 110 within broader debates on public health, criminal justice reform, and policy-making, Albertson analyzes the progressive policy’s aspirational, reform-minded goals and the practical shortcomings in its enactment. Albertson argues that while Measure 110 has faced justified criticism and partial reversal, it remains a pivotal case study in state-level experimentation with decriminalization, underscoring the importance of implementation infrastructure, cross-sector collaboration, and political communication in drafting and sustaining transformative public policy.
Source: Anthós
Author: Matthew Albertson
Institution: Portland State University
Language: English
Topic: Criminal Law and Policy
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4412107809