In February 2020 I was visiting Portland from another part of the state. I was approached by a cool Millennial on North Mississippi Ave collecting signatures for a ballot measure decriminalizing drugs in Oregon. (Did anyone sign the initiative 44 petition outside Portland Metro?) I signed without asking questions, because I’d always supported drug reform in the past. After it qualified for the ballot as Measure 110, I voted yes again in the fall without reading the proposed changes. Had I read the text of Measure 110, I’d have campaigned against it .

How did decriminalization happen to Oregon?

For starters, Oregon has a low-threshold ballot measure system (see more below). And money. A LOT OF MONEY. Measure 110 backers spent over $6 million.

The opposition raised just over $167,000. You read that right.