(Picture obtained through the article linked below)
H.B. 2355 (The Bill)
According to the text of the bill, drugs like LSD, MDMA, cocaine, meth, oxycodone, and heroin are essentially decriminalized in small amounts. Each drug listed is accompanied by the following text, indicating possession is only a felony if:
“(a) The person possesses a usable quantity of the controlled substance and: (A) At the time of the possession, the person has a prior felony conviction; (B) At the time of the possession, the person has two or more prior convictions for unlawful possession of a usable quantity of a controlled substance.”
My take on this subject:
I think it's about time this happened. Many people hear drugs being legalized and imagine drug addicts running all over the streets shooting up and all sorts of craziness but that's just not true.
Take Amsterdam for example: Many drugs there are sold in stores that anyone can buy and yet the locals could care less about them. They are educated about these drugs and if they do end up getting hooked, they go for help. They don't have to worry about confessing their addiction because the cops won't put them in jail for 5+ years and they won't be socially shamed, the way an American might be.
“We’ve got to treat people, not put them in prison. It would be like putting them in the state penitentiary for having diabetes… This is a chronic brain disorder and it needs to be treated this way.”
What do you guys think?
If you want to read up on this yourself, here are some links:
http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2017/07/oregon_bill_will_reduce_punish.html
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/oregon-legislature-passes-bill-decriminalize-cocaine-meth-and-heroin
http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/07/oregon-poised-to-decriminalize-meth-cocaine-and-heroin/