Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response

We’re encouraged about the formation of the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. Everyone in Oregon is frustrated and heartsick over the vast suffering we see on our streets. The formation of this committee shows our legislative leaders recognize this is a public health emergency — one that requires the full force of the state government to solve.

Measure 110-funded services are an essential part of the solution, and more services like what M110 provides are greatly needed. With M110 funding now available, voluntary substance use treatment through Measure 110 increased by 44% in just six months. It didn’t work to arrest our way out of this crisis; Measure 110 is showing us that when addiction services are made more accessible, people get the help they need.

As we work on real solutions together, must ensure that any policies relating to substance use in Oregon be informed by these values:

• Addiction is a healthcare issue — not a crime — and the public health approach is the right policy roadmap.
• Communities most impacted by drug war policies should lead the way. Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, low-income communities, or people struggling with drug addiction — should be centered in both policy decision-making and Measure 110 service delivery.
• Criminalization and punitive coercion are ineffective, costly, and inhumane. We can’t go back to the failed and harmful policies of the past.
• Measure 110 services should be voluntary, free and cover the full spectrum of care. This means effective, evidence-based, culturally and linguistically specific, non-judgmental, and non-coercive treatment and recovery services.

We look forward to being included in this discussion, and for committee members to hear directly from Measure 110 providers about how these funds are saving lives and healing communities.