This article appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of Discover magazine as "Science Under Biden." Become a subscriber for unlimited access to our archive.
As of February, arrests ended in Oregon for possession of small amounts of hard drugs; over 58 percent of Oregonians voted in favor of the new policy to decriminalize all drugs in November 2020. Combined with the legalization of psilocybin — a hallucinogen found in psychedelic mushrooms — for therapeutic use, the shift creates the most lax state drug laws in the U.S.
People caught with heroin, cocaine, LSD or other illegal drugs now receive a civil citation and $100 fine in Oregon. But the latter can be waived if the offender agrees to a free assessment at one of the state’s new addiction and recovery centers. These will be built with state sales tax revenue from marijuana, which was legalized for recreational use in 2014.
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