January 11, 2024 3:50 a.m. 

On Wednesday, Oregon House Republican members of the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response issued a statement regarding the recent audit of Measure 110.

A release from the Oregon House Republican Caucus said Measure 110 was passed with the promise that resources would be dedicated to treatment while making substance abuse legal, but the audit revealed structural failures in the way Oregon responded to the increasing waves of those addicted that the Measure created.

House Leader Jeff Helfrich of Hood River said, “This audit confirms that Measure 110 is failing the people of Oregon and will continue to do so without significant and fundamental reforms – like the return of criminal justice accountability and mandatory treatment for those possessing dangerous drugs like fentanyl, heroin, and meth”.

Representative Christine Goodwin of Canyonville said, “Measure 110 is a failure on many fronts, but today’s hearing confirmed that it directs too few of its resources to prevention and recovery. As a former teacher I was especially shocked to hear from parents who say even those scarce resources never make it to youth users or schools”. Goodwin said, “We need to substantively reform Measure 110 from top to bottom to tackle Oregon’s drug addiction crisis”.

Representative Kevin Mannix of Salem said, “This audit provides us with a roadmap to navigate reforms to measure 110. We need to treat this as a serious challenge to the established system and an opportunity to truly fulfill the will of the voters in dealing with addiction”.

The release said House Republicans have offered solutions to the failures of Measure 110 that include repealing failed and ineffective aspects of the law and instituting penalties for those who possess deadly drugs like fentanyl, making treatment mandatory for those arrested on drug-related crimes in order to avoid jail, and directing resources to the county level so local entities can better address areas of acute need.