How Drug Policy Reform in Oregon Left the Most Vulnerable Behind

When Oregon passed Measure 110 in November 2020, many celebrated it as a turning point in drug policy reform. For the first time in the United States, personal possession of all drugs was partially decriminalised. The idea was simple: treat substance use as a public health issue, not a criminal one. Reduce jail overcrowding. Address racial disparities in drug enforcement.

But a newly published study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports (2026) exposes a significant blind spot in the law. For people already under community supervision, those on probation or parole, the reforms changed almost nothing. The consequences were severe.

Who Substance Use Decriminalisation Left Out

Oregon’s Measure 110 explicitly excluded people under community supervision from its protections. Their release conditions already prohibited drug use, so the new law simply did not apply to them.

Researchers from RTI International and Comagine Health surveyed 468 people who use drugs across eight Oregon counties in 2023, while Measure 110 was still active. Of those surveyed, 116 people (26%) reported being under some form of community supervision in the past year, whether probation, post-prison supervision, or parole.

The data told a clear story. Despite living under a partial substance use decriminalisation policy, this group continued to face intense scrutiny from law enforcement and high rates of overdose.

Stopped, Searched, Jailed: The Reality of Drug Policy Reform on the Ground

The figures for criminal legal system involvement among supervised individuals are striking. A full 82% of those under community supervision reported being stopped or questioned by law enforcement at least once in the past year. The median number of stops was four. Nearly three in five (60%) reported being searched, and 57% spent time in jail at least once in the same period.

People under supervision were 33 percentage points more likely to have been searched than those without supervision. They were also 33 percentage points more likely to have spent time in jail. These are not small gaps.

Qualitative research alongside the study found that some Oregon officers specifically targeted people on probation and parole after Measure 110’s enactment. Officers used stops and searches to build felony drug cases. Drug policy reform opened a door, and policing practice quietly closed it.

Overdose Rates Among Supervised People Remain Dangerously High

One in three people under community supervision (34%) reported a past-year opioid overdose. Among those not on supervision, that figure was closer to one in four. After researchers adjusted for demographic factors, supervised individuals showed a 12 percentage point higher rate of opioid-related overdose.

Separate research puts this in sharper focus. People on probation are around 15 times more likely to die from opioid-related causes than the general population, at 361 versus 23 deaths per 100,000. That is not a marginal gap. It points to a population in genuine crisis.

Fear of Calling 911 Puts Lives at Risk

Oregon introduced a Good Samaritan Law in 2015. It explicitly grants immunity to people who contact emergency services during a drug-related overdose, including those on probation or parole. Yet around one in four supervised individuals (26%) in this study still feared getting into trouble if they called 911 for an overdose.

That fear has real consequences. People who use drugs, particularly those with probation or parole conditions, consistently report reluctance to contact emergency services. They worry about arrest, incarceration, or a supervision violation. Research from the United States and Canada confirms this pattern repeatedly.

A 2023 national survey found that one in five US law enforcement agencies reported jailing people at least some of the time following overdose calls. In Indianapolis, one in ten overdose survivors landed in jail within six hours of emergency services arriving. Good Samaritan Laws only work when policing practice backs them up.

Naloxone Access: One Area Where Drug Policy Reform Delivered

Not all the findings pointed in the same direction. Around 80% of community-supervised individuals reported receiving naloxone in the past year. They also reported being able to access it quickly. Supervision status made no significant difference to naloxone access.

Researchers linked this to Measure 110’s investment in harm reduction infrastructure. The law directed funding to Behavioural Health Resource Networks across all 36 Oregon counties. Oregon distributed more than 724,000 naloxone doses since 2020.

Still, researchers flagged a gap. Oregon has some of the highest homelessness rates in the United States. Mail-based naloxone distribution does not reach people without a stable address. Vending machines and naloxboxes could help close that gap for those in unstable housing.

What Comes Next for Community Supervision in Oregon

In 2024, Oregon’s legislature passed House Bill 4002. It reintroduced criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of controlled substances as misdemeanours, responding to mounting political pressure. The partial decriminalisation experiment is, for now, effectively over.

The fallout will be significant. Oregon forecasts a 46% rise in demand for probation supervision over the next five years. Parole demand is projected to increase by 7%. Local supervision could double. The people Measure 110 never truly protected now face a much larger system.

Researchers are clear on the lesson. Any future drug policy reform must explicitly include people under community supervision within its protections. Without that, the same population faces the same risks. Higher overdose rates, more frequent police contact, and a persistent fear of seeking help will continue.

Getting drug policy reform right means protecting everyone, not just those outside the criminal legal system.

Smiley-McDonald et al. (2026). Community supervision during Oregon’s partial decriminalisation Measure 110: Criminal legal system involvement, overdose, and naloxone access. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 19, 100430.

Source: dbrecoveryresources