Oregon decriminalises drugs for personal use

GETTING CAUGHT with a small amount of drugs in Oregon is now like getting a traffic ticket. At the beginning of this month, it became the first state to decriminalise possession of even hard drugs for personal use. Rather than face criminal charges, those in possession of small amounts of drugs (defined as having less than 1 gram of heroin or MDMA, 2 grams of methamphetamine or cocaine, 12 grams of psilocybin, 40 units of methadone or LSD, or 40 pills of oxycodone) will face a $100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to rehabilitation rather than jail time. Drug treatment will be funded by state tax revenue from legal marijuana sales, which reached $133m in 2020.