Diane’s farewell message
After 52 years at WAMU, Diane Rehm says goodbye.
Public drug use has risen sharply in Oregon since voters decriminalized possession for personal use. Now lawmakers are considering reversing course.
In 2020 Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed a measure that decriminalized drug use. Since the law went into effect three years ago, homelessness in the state has increased, the rate of overdose deaths has risen sharply and the support for decriminalization has plummeted.
Now, Oregon legislators on both sides of the aisle are considering overturning the measure, reinstating a more “law and order” approach to addiction.
“Drugs are a symptom of what’s going on,” says Maia Szalavitz, contributing opinion writer at the New York Times who covers addiction and public policy. “Drugs are not the primary cause of what happened.”
Szalavitz joins Diane on the latest episode of On My Mind to talk about the fight over decriminalizing drugs in Oregon – and what it means for the rest of the country.
Guests
- Maia Szalavitz Guest Opinion writer for the New York Times and author of "Undoing Drugs How Harm Reduction is Changing the Future of Drugs and Addiction"
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