Measure 110 – Decriminalizes various currently prohibited drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, for all ages.

Measure 110 – Vote No
Title: Provides statewide addiction/recovery services; marijuana taxes partially finance; reclassifies possession/penalties for specified drugs

Advance Liberty Explanation
Decriminalizes various currently prohibited drugs, including heroin and fentanyl, for all ages. Sets up Assessment Centers that can refer addicts to treatment facilities but would remove any requirement for addicts to attend these facilities. Funded by money currently being spent on K-12 schools.

Advance Liberty Commentary
Our opposition to Measure 110 begins with its highly deceptive name and title. The drafters call this the “Drug Addiction Treatment Recovery Act.”

Drug Addiction: But Instead of reducing addiction, it opens the door wide for children and adults to these addictive substances.

Treatment: But it only gives lip service to treatment, simply referring addicts to treatment centers while it cuts their funding and removes the judicial incentives to avail oneself of them.
                            
Recovery Act:  But the only thing it actually “recovers” is the money it takes from our children’s education.

“The LORD detests lying lips, but He delights in people who are trustworthy.” Proverbs 12:22

We have four serious objections to this Measure. First, through decriminalization, 110 removes the current strong messaging that these drugs are very harmful. It’s primary effect would be the decriminalization of user amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, ecstasy, LSD, psilocybin, etc.. This would apply to juveniles and adults alike. Decriminalization sends the message that these drugs are not really all that bad or dangerous.

As if this is not bad enough, it would, second, decouple these drug offenses from the justice system, which currently provides strong incentives to enter drug addiction treatment facilities. These systems have been established to break the devastating cycle of addiction. Many addicts say that if they hadn’t been arrested and then ordered to a treatment center, they would have died from their addiction. As the saying goes “You have to feel the heat before you see the light” But 110 removes the current justice system incentives to enter residential treatment centers. There is a consensus of those tackling the problem of drug addiction that residential treatment facilities are the most effective means of helping addicts break with their addiction and be restored to health and true liberty.

Third, Measure 110 does nothing to add treatment beds. 110’s assessment centers can only refer addicts to treatment centers. But Measure 110 does not provide any funding for treatment beds and instead removes money from these sorts of services. The predictable result would be to increase
addiction, leading to a whole host of ill effects, including mental illness, child abuse and neglect, homelessness, crime that supports the addicted, poor health outcomes, suicides, and overdoses. This isn’t just informed speculation. These are the actual results of a similar approach tried in San Francisco.

It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Similarly, God’s word says that “The tender mercies of the wicked turn out to be cruel.” (Proverbs 12:10). Measure 110 is cruel to those it purports to help and will increase some of the most intractable problems of our state.

Fourth and finally, 110 is primarily funded by removing over seventy million dollars from our K- 12 schools, creating yet another budget hole, resulting in yet more taxes.

We urge you to vote No on Measure 110.