Oregon Is The First US State to Decriminalize Hard Drugs

(Chaz Anon) Oregon has become the first US state to decriminalize the possession of hard drugs, including cocaine and heroin.

People caught with small amounts of drugs for personal use will now have to pay a $100 (£77) fine or have a health check at an addiction-recovery center.

Oregon also becomes the first state to legalize the therapeutic use of hallucinogenic mushrooms.

The new measures were approved by a public vote as part of a nationwide push to relax drug laws.

Elsewhere, voters in Arizona, New Jersey, Montana and South Dakota passed a ballot to legalize marijuana.

They join 11 other states, and the District of Columbia, which have already given the green light to the recreational adult use of cannabis - a drug that is still prohibited on a federal level.

Violations of Oregon's current state law against drug possession carry a maximum penalty of a $6,250 fine and up to a year in jail.

But despite the change in policy, people in Oregon who manufacture or distribute hard drugs will still face criminal punishment. Possession of larger quantities could result in misdemeanor charges, rising to felony charges if the quantity is considered large enough to be commercial.

The new law in Oregon, dubbed Measure 110, will take effect from 1 February 2021, and is supported by the Oregon Nurses' Association, the Oregon chapter of the American College of Physicians, and the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians.

Under its terms, funding will be provided for addiction treatment, health assessments and other services for people with addiction issues. The programs would be financed partly by savings from state prisons, and tax money from the sale of marijuana, which was legalized in 2014.