Oregon's 2020 drug decriminalization law — and why lawmakers rolled back the possession provisions in 2024.
Oregon Measure 110 decriminalized personal possession of all controlled drugs in 2020. Voters approved it in November 2020 with about 58% support. It took effect on February 1, 2021.
The measure did two main things. First, it removed criminal penalties for holding a small amount of any drug for personal use. Second, it sent money to a network of addiction treatment and recovery services.
The official name was the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act. Backers framed it as a public-health approach: treat drug use as a health problem, not a crime. It was the first law of its kind in the United States.
Measure 110 paid for treatment by redirecting cannabis tax revenue. Oregon already taxed legal marijuana sales. The law steered much of that money into a new grant program for addiction services, harm reduction, housing, and peer support.
This funding piece is important to understand. When people say Oregon "repealed Measure 110," they usually mean the decriminalization part. The treatment funding stayed in place.
Measure 110 turned simple drug possession into a civil violation, not a crime. Holding a small, personal amount of a controlled substance led to a $100 ticket, not an arrest. A person could void the fine by completing a health needs screening.
The decriminalization applied broadly. It covered personal-use amounts of:
Manufacturing and selling drugs remained crimes throughout. So did possessing amounts above the personal-use limits. Driving under the influence was still illegal. Measure 110 changed only how the state treated simple, personal possession.
Measure 110 reduced the penalty for possessing psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD. Because the law covered all controlled substances, holding a small personal amount of these drugs became a $100 civil violation instead of a crime. That was true from 2021 until the 2024 rollback.
It helps to keep two Oregon laws separate. They passed in the same 2020 election but do very different things.
So even after the 2024 rollback, supervised psilocybin use inside the Measure 109 program stays legal. What changed is that holding psilocybin or LSD on your own, outside that program, is again a misdemeanor. For where mushrooms stand more broadly, see our guide on whether mushrooms are legal and our psilocybin guide.
Oregon recriminalized small-amount drug possession in 2024 through House Bill 4002. The bill made simple possession a misdemeanor again. It took effect on September 1, 2024.
Lawmakers passed HB 4002 with strong bipartisan margins. The House approved it 51-7 and the Senate approved it 21-8. Governor Tina Kotek signed it on April 1, 2024.
HB 4002 created a new charge called a "drug enforcement misdemeanor" for simple possession. Reports describe it as an unclassified misdemeanor that can carry up to 180 days in jail. The structure leans toward treatment, not jail, in most cases.
The law set up several steps, in this order:
The clearest way to see Measure 110 is to compare the law before and after the 2024 change. The table below shows the 2020 decriminalization rules next to the 2024 House Bill 4002 rules.
| Feature | Before (Measure 110, 2020) | After (HB 4002, 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Small-amount possession | $100 civil violation, no arrest | Misdemeanor crime again |
| Drugs covered | All controlled substances, including psilocybin and LSD | Same drugs, now recriminalized for simple possession |
| Default response | $100 ticket, voided by a health screening | Deflection or probation with treatment; jail as a backstop |
| Maximum penalty | $100 fine | Up to 180 days in jail (if probation is violated) |
| Addiction treatment funding | Funded by cannabis tax revenue | Kept in place (not repealed) |
| Measure 109 psilocybin program | Unaffected | Still unaffected and operating |
The key takeaway: the 2024 law added back criminal penalties for personal possession. It did not undo the treatment funding, and it did not touch the licensed psilocybin program. To see how state rules differ everywhere else, use our legal status by state tool.
Oregon rolled back Measure 110 mainly because of a sharp rise in public drug use and overdose deaths during the fentanyl crisis. Lawmakers and many voters lost patience as visible drug use grew. The treatment system the measure promised was slow to get built.
Here is the part most coverage misses. The likely driver was not decriminalization by itself. Two other forces hit at the same time: the arrival of cheap, deadly fentanyl, and a treatment buildout that lagged for years. Money moved slowly, services opened slowly, and the visible crisis grew faster than the help did.
That timing matters for how you read the repeal. If the problem was a slow treatment rollout meeting a fentanyl surge, then the rollback is not clean proof that decriminalization "failed." It is closer to proof that decriminalization without a fast, funded treatment system is fragile under political pressure.
For psychedelic policy, Measure 110 is a cautionary tale about sequencing. Oregon's separate psilocybin program (Measure 109) survived the backlash, while broad drug decriminalization did not. The lesson many reformers draw: a tightly scoped, supervised, well-funded program is more durable than open decriminalization with a treatment system that arrives late. See our overview of what psychedelics are legal in the US for the wider picture.
Federal law never changed during any of this. Drugs covered by Measure 110, including psilocybin and LSD, remain Schedule I under federal law. Oregon's state choices did not change their federal status.
State decriminalization also never protected people on federal land or from federal charges. It only changed how Oregon's own courts treated simple possession. For a global comparison, our guide to Portugal's drug decriminalization shows a model often cited as the inspiration for Measure 110 — and one paired with treatment from the start.
Oregon Measure 110 decriminalized personal possession of all controlled drugs in 2020. It made small-amount possession a $100 civil violation instead of a crime, and it redirected cannabis tax revenue to fund addiction treatment. Voters approved it with about 58% support.
Partly. The decriminalization part of Measure 110 was rolled back. On September 1, 2024, House Bill 4002 made small-amount drug possession a misdemeanor again. The treatment-funding part of Measure 110 stayed in place.
Yes. Measure 110 covered possession of all controlled substances, which included psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD. After the 2024 rollback, simple possession of these drugs is again a misdemeanor, except for psilocybin used inside Oregon's separate licensed Measure 109 program.
Measure 110 was a drug decriminalization law that covered all drugs and was largely repealed in 2024. Measure 109 is a separate law that created Oregon's legal, supervised psilocybin therapy program at licensed service centers, and it is still in effect.
Lawmakers cited a rise in public drug use and overdose deaths during the fentanyl crisis, plus slow rollout of the treatment system Measure 110 promised. Critics argued the problem was the treatment buildout, not decriminalization itself. House Bill 4002 passed with bipartisan support in 2024.
Under House Bill 4002, simple possession of a small amount of a controlled substance is a new "drug enforcement misdemeanor." Counties can offer deflection, where completing treatment avoids charges. If a case proceeds, it can lead to probation with treatment and up to 180 days in jail.
Drug and psychedelic laws change fast and differ in every state. Check the current rules where you live before you rely on anything you read here.
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