There are times when it appears that Democrats have no concept of “cause and effect,” as in the case of the party’s supermajority in Oregon.
No sooner than state residents voted to decriminalize the possession and use of hard narcotics than the state experienced a massive 700 percent increase in overdose deaths.
The Blaze reports:
Voters in the state of Oregon voted to decriminalize all hard drugs in the pursuit of encouraging those struggling with drug addiction to seek medical help. The measure, referred to as Ballot Measure 110, was the first of its kind in the U.S. and went into effect in February of 2021 after being approved by the public the year before.
Ballot Measure 110 made it so that it was no longer a felony or misdemeanor of any kind to possess drugs in the state of Oregon. At most, people carrying hard drugs are subject to a maximum fine of $100 which can be waived if the person receiving the citation calls a public hotline and receives a free health assessment.
Mind you, hard drugs are still illegal to use on the federal level; marijuana too, for that matter. But for some reason, Joe Biden’s Justice Department doesn’t seem interested in enforcing those laws.
The Blaze went on to note that, according to the Oregon decriminalization statute, anyone found to be carrying what is described as a “personal amount” of narcotics — heroin, cocaine, or meth — the most they’ll get is a $100 fine.
That said, of some $300 million that was supposed to be earmarked for public health resources to battle addition, just $40 million has been spent, indicating that Oregon Democrats really aren’t concerned about ‘treating addiction.’
But they are certainly all-in as far as causing more addiction.
The UK’s Daily Mail went on to report that Ballot Measure 110 has had the opposite effect of what it was advertised to do (cause/effect): It has not led more users to seek treatment, but rather it has led to more addicts and drug-related deaths throughout the state.
Because why wouldn’t decriminalizing hard drugs lead to more hard drug usage?
“We have overdoses increasing at drastic rates,” said Lily Morgan, a GOP state official. “In my community, [there has been] a 700% increase in overdoses and a 120% increase in deaths.”
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, another Democrat who lacks critical thinking skills, said residents approved the measure because they were told it would “improve the lives of people” and “improve our communities.”
“When the voters of Oregon passed Measure 110, we did so because it was a change of policy in Oregon to improve the lives of people, to improve our communities, and in the years since we haven’t seen that play out,” she said. “Instead, in many communities in Oregon, we’ve seen the problem with drug addiction get worse.”
No kidding.
Steve Allen, Oregon’s behavioral health director, tried to explain away the rising OD death rate by attributing many of them to an influx of methamphetamine laced with fentanyl.
He then claimed, unbelievably, that if only Oregon would spend more on ‘public health resources,’ overdoses would decrease and the drug problem would recede.
“Getting these resources out to the community is incredibly important — not just the harm reduction resources, but people who can support folks who are at risk for overdose,” he said.
To recap: Oregon’s overdose and OD death rates only increased after the state’s Democrat majority voted to decriminalize hard drugs, meaning, the decriminalization led to more hard drug use, not less.
Cause and effect. Critical thinking. Two concepts Democrats seem incapable of grasping.
Goodbye, Oregon. It was nice knowing you.
