Oregon Is The First State To Decriminalize Hard Drugs Like Heroin, Cocaine

The people of Oregon voted overwhelmingly to decriminalize all hard drugs in the state, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The "Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act," which seeks to help drug addicts using "a humane, cost-effective, health approach," passed by a vote of 59%-41%. Oregon is the first state in the country to decriminalize all hard drugs. 

Oregon will no longer treat small amounts of drugs as a criminal offense and will instead offer addiction services to anybody in possession of hard drugs. The initiative will be funded by marijuana tax revenue, which brings in around $100 million a year. Possession can still result in a fine of $100, but that fine will be waived if the user seeks treatment at one of the state's Addiction Recovery Centers.

Only small amounts of hard drugs are decriminalized. Under the law, people who have more than one gram of heroin or ecstasy or two grams of cocaine or methamphetamine can still face criminal charges. Anybody caught with less than 12 grams of psilocybin mushrooms or 40 doses of LSD, oxycodone, or methadone will be able to avoid criminal charges.

Manufacturing and selling hard drugs will still be illegal.

Oregon wasn't the only state where drug laws were on the ballot. New Jersey, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota all passed measures approving recreational marijuana, while voters in Mississippi approved a ballot measure to make medicinal marijuana legal.

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