Oregonians have the opportunity to make big change across the state by voting YES on Measure 110 by November 3! Your YES VOTE will establish a humane, health-based approach to addiction; something that has impacted all of our families in one way or another. Your YES VOTE could also reduce disparities in drug arrests for Black and Indigenous people by more than 90% for both communities.
Family Forward Action and our sister organization, Family Forward Oregon, have both endorsed your YES VOTE on Measure 110. Decriminalizing addiction supports our larger racial justice goals and deeply aligns with recent policy we have been involved in regarding the over-incarceration of mothers in Oregon. Currently 80% of women incarcerated in Oregon are mothers, many of whom are serving time for drug-related or impacted crimes.
Right now, Oregon ranks nearly last in the country in access to drug addiction treatment. In some parts of the state, drug treatment and recovery services are not available at all. And in the places where these services do exist, the wait list to get in can be weeks—or even months—long.
Meanwhile, Oregon currently treats addiction as a crime, sending people to jail instead of connecting them with evidence-based, compassionate care. It’s a cruel and ineffective practice, and incarceration for addiction only makes matters much worse—adding trauma, and saddling people with a criminal record that makes it harder to obtain employment, housing, and more. Criminalizing people who suffer from addiction can lead to families being torn apart, but supporting them with low-barrier, trauma-informed services can improve health outcomes for the whole family.
By voting yes on Measure 110 shifts Oregon away from criminalizing addiction and starts us on a path toward what’s best for our families. With one to two Oregonians dying from drug overdoses every single day, Measure 110 is urgently needed.
Learn more and get involved with the campaign at Yeson110.org.