Some on the pro-prohibition side of the national debate on drug policy are crowing over the fact that studies of very recent decriminalization policies in Oregon and Washington show that deaths from drug overdoses in those states did not go down in the last couple of years.

But, truly, since the forces on the side of locking up (formerly) illegal drug users and throwing away the key have long touted their theories that eliminating or reducing such laws would put people into more danger and result in dramatically more deaths, the real upshot of these studies is the reverse. Drug overdose deaths clearly did not increase under the new policies. And that’s a good thing.

Plus, all of this is very early on.

As Reason magazine’s Jacob Sullum notes in looking at the results of one of the studies, “The decriminalization of low-level drug possession in Oregon was not associated with a statistically significant increase in drug-related deaths during the first year after that policy took effect, according to a study reported today in JAMA Psychiatry.”

In addition, “The researchers reached a similar conclusion regarding fatal overdoses in Washington, where simple possession was decriminalized as a result of a February 2021 decision by the Washington Supreme Court.”

In Washington state, the court’s decision created a backlash among legislators, who three months later passed a law that recriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs but downgraded it from a felony to a misdemeanor.

As longtime proponents of the concept that overly punitive state and national laws regarding opiates, psychedelics and marijuana are part of the American drug problem, not part of the solution, we will look forward to the more significant data that will be several years in the making.

But here is the opinion of the physicians writing in JAMA: “The findings of this study suggest that legal changes to remove or decrease criminal penalties for drug possession are not associated with the fatal drug overdose rate 1-year post implementation; further research is needed to examine the medium- and long-term consequences of these legal changes.”

When doctors say “not associated with,” they mean the changes neither increased nor decreased overdoses.

We continue to believe that one of the good outcomes that will come in the long run as states begin to tinker, as they surely should, with drug laws is tied to what JAMA reports: “Data from numerous states including Oregon show that persons who use drugs ... are often reluctant to call 911 during an overdose due to fear of arrest and other negative criminal-legal outcomes. Removing these penalties may increase calls for help and reduce arrest rates and related incarceration leading to lower fatal overdose rates.”

In Oregon in 2021, an initiative championed by citizens called Measure 110 went into effect. It was approved by over 58% of voters, and changed the possession of personal amounts of all drugs from a crime to a noncriminal ticket. No jail or other criminal penalties can be imposed. The maximum fine for a violation is $100, and that is eliminated if the drug user completes a health assessment within a month and a half of receiving a citation.

In Washington in 2021, the state Supreme Court said the drug possession statute was unconstitutional, which immediately legalized mere possession of small amounts of formerly criminalized drugs. Though the legislature later changed that to reducing possession to a misdemeanor, the law also mandates police officers to offer a referral to substance use disorder assessment and services such as outpatient treatment.

Contrary to the unwise current common wisdom about the dangers of powerful fentanyl, its use is probably magnified by what Sullum terms “the economic incentives that prohibition creates.” That’s because federal and state laws increased during the crackdown on prescription opioids drive drug users to fentanyl as a substitute.

California, now adjusting its own laws on drug prohibition, needs to keep a close eye on the Northwest experiments.

-- Los Angeles Daily News