logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
26m 59s

Oregon Decriminalized Drugs. Voters Now ...

The New York Times
About this episode

In 2020, motivated to try a different way to combat drug use, Oregon voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine.

Things didn’t turn out as planned.

Mike Baker, a national reporter for The Times, explains what went wrong.

Guest: Mike Baker, a national reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Up next
Yesterday
A Consequential Supreme Court Term Begins With a Conversion Therapy Case
Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide.In one of the first cases of the Supreme Court’s new term, the justices considered whether to strike down a ban on conversion therapy, the contentious practice that aims to change a young person’s sexual orientation.Ann E. Marimo ... Show More
30m 29s
Oct 8
Trump Claims ‘Rebellion’ in American Cities
Over the past week, ICE and border patrol agents have clashed with Chicago residents, and federal guard troops arriving in the city might inflame tensions further.Julie Bosman, Chicago bureau chief for The Times, and Mattathias Schwartz describe the situation on the ground and ex ... Show More
34m 31s
Oct 7
Marriage and Sex in the Age of Ozempic
In the last few years, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound have been radically reshaping the people’s lives, changing appetites and health.But the drugs also have the power to affect other parts of consumers’ lives, including their romantic relationships.Lisa Miller ... Show More
37m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2023
A Game Changer In The Fight Against Fentanyl
Amid America's ongoing drug epidemic, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have proposed legislation to prevent drug smuggling efforts from cartels at the southern border. Now, the FDA has approved the over-the-counter sale of Narcan, a drug used to treat and reverse opioid overdoses. FOX N ... Show More
32m 52s
Nov 2020
America said yes to drugs
Oregon decriminalized all drugs. Red states and blue states are doing the same with weed. It’s the culmination of a failed drug war.Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
26m 59s
Mar 2024
Why Oregon's Going From Drug Decriminalization To Recriminalization
Oregon’s legislature has reintroduced criminal penalties for hard drug possession, effectively reversing course three years after voters passed the state’s Measure 110 and decriminalized possession in many cases. Many describe the reversal as a big setback for the criminal justic ... Show More
20m 32s
May 2024
This Is a Very Weird Moment in the History of Drug Laws
Drug policy feels very unsettled right now. The war on drugs was a failure. But so far, the war on the war on drugs hasn’t entirely been a success, either.Take Oregon. In 2020, it became the first state in the nation to decriminalize hard drugs. It was a paradigm shift — treating ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 2017
What Happens When You Legalise Cannabis?
In 2014 marijuana was legalised for recreational use in Colorado and Washington states in the US. Oregon, Alaska, California, Nevada and Massachusetts have all followed. These votes were the result of fierce campaigns. Activists argued that changing the law would eliminate the bl ... Show More
23m 25s
Mar 2023
Fentanyl, une tragédie américaine
Aux Etats-Unis, le Fentanyl, puissant médicament opioïde, fait des ravages dans toutes les couches de la société. Au-delà de l’impact sanitaire, plus de 100’000 overdoses par an, cette crise est révélatrice d’un système de lutte contre la drogue en bout de course. Dans le 23ème é ... Show More
15m 19s
Jun 2021
Fentanyl Overdoses are Claiming Younger People’s Lives in Santa Clara County
Deaths from fentanyl overdoses have been on the rise during the pandemic. In Santa Clara County, the ages of the victims are trending younger, according to an analysis by KQED and the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation. Fent ... Show More
18m 18s
May 2024
Backlash and walk backs: BC reverses drug policy
In April, a hospital memo was released by the British Columbia’s official opposition party. It was from July 2023, a few months after the possession of small amounts of certain hard drugs were decriminalized in the province under a three-year pilot project. And it advised nurses ... Show More
19m 53s