Hansell: “Measure 110 has been a disaster”
By Terry Murry on Monday, October 23rd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
ATHENA – State Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) said indications are the main issue that will be tackled in the coming 2024 session of the Oregon Legislature will be Measure 110. Voted in by the people, the ballot measure decriminalized individual drug possession, reducing it to the level of a traffic ticket.
Supporters of the measure said it would give people the option of treatment for substance abuse disorders. However, that does not appear to be the case. Opinion polls now show Oregon voters would probably repeal it if such a call was placed on the ballot.
“Measure 110 has been a disaster,” Hansell said. “It has not done what it was promised to do. Every aspect of it is not good.”
Hansell stops short of saying the measure should simply be reversed by the voters.
“The one thing that we’d like to salvage, a lot of us, is the money that was set aside for treatment,” he said. “This was the first time we really had a major treatment-funding opportunity for addiction.”
The Athena Republican said how it goes in the session depends on the strength of the legislators.
“The issue that we don’t know yet is whether the legislature itself will have the will to try to do something significant enough, and not just window dress it,” he said.
