Oregon, November 4: Oregon has become the first US state to decriminalise possession of a small quantity of hard drugs, including cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and methamphetamine for personnel use. Ballot measure 110 was passed on Tuesday in unofficial early returns. The measure will come into effect from February 1, 2021. Fentanyl A More Dangerous Drug Than Heroin in the US Says CDC: Facts About This Deadly Opioid.

According to the measure, Oregon will remove criminal penalties for possession of a small quantity of drugs only for personal use. The ballot measure would now reclassify possession of small amounts of drugs as a civil violation. A penalty of $100 could be avoided, if a person from whom drugs are recovered agreed to participate in a health assessment. However, selling and manufacturing drugs will remain illegal. Trump Calls for Action Against Global Drug Menace.

With this measure, the state will now redirect existing marijuana sales tax revenues and savings toward setting up a more expansive drug addiction treatment program. The funds required for drug addiction treatment will be available through the reallocation of the money generated by Oregon’s cannabis tax. However, some people are opposing the move as they claim that the measure would undermine local efforts against drugs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 04, 2020 11:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).