“There’s always the hope that states function as laboratories of democracy, and when one state does something that makes sense and seems to work, that other states will adopt it,” says Davis. “Arrests went way down, overdoses didn’t change: To me, that’s an improvement over the previously existing system.”
There’s been an intense effort to walk back drug decriminalization in Oregon. Many people who voted for it have changed their minds after seeing perceived increases in property crime and homelessness. They think decrim caused those problems, ignoring the fact that Oregon crime, overdoses, and homelessness didn’t increase more than other states.