Oregon Becomes The First State To Decriminalize Hard Drugs Like Cocaine And Heroin

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Addiction should not be a crime.

States across the country are attempting to relax the drug laws in an effort to get addicts help, rather than incarcerate them.

The first state to vote in the lax drug laws was Oregon.  The state voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of street drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Meanwhile, five more states legalized marijuana for adults.

The Oregon drug initiative will allow people arrested with small amounts of hard drugs to avoid going to trial, and possible jail time, by paying a $100 fine and attending an addiction recovery program. The treatment centers will be funded by revenues from legalized marijuana, which was approved in Oregon several years ago.

Today’s victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

In addition to Oregon voters approving the relaxed drug laws, they also approved a measure making the state the first to legalize the therapeutic use of psychedelic mushrooms.

Voters in New Jersey and Arizona approved measures legalizing marijuana for adults age 21 and older. While South Dakota on Tuesday became the first state where voters authorized both recreational marijuana and medical marijuana. The legalization of recreational marijuana was also approved by voters in Montana, and medical marijuana won approval in Mississippi.