Oregon has become the first US state to take the striking step of ending criminal penalty for drug possession , after voters punt a vote measure calling fordecriminalizationduring the late presidential election . This means that those catch with heroin , cocaine and other illicit substances will now be offered treatment for drug abuse rather than cheek prosecution . It ’s authoritative to note that decriminalisation is not the same as legalisation , and that it persist illegal to make up or trade drug in Oregon . However , those who are caught in self-will of quantities of narcotic that are deemed suitable for personal use will no longer be dispatch with criminal charges . Instead , they will be given the option to pay a $ 100 fine or bless up for handling . The measure was introduced in an attack to stem the spirallingopioid epidemicthat has seen overdose deaths rocket throughout the US in recent years . By tender junky financial support it is hoped that more will be able to get at the help they require to kick their use before it is too late . what is more , advocate of decriminalisation say that it can reverse some of the harms yield by theWar on Drugs . For example , a recentanalysisconducted by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission indicated that decriminalizing narcotics would result in a 95 percent decrease in racial disparities in drug arrests . Historically , prohibitionist policy have disproportionately affected black and Hispanic communities , yet theDrug Policy Alliance , which put onward the fresh measure , say that this new pecker will go some path to levelling the playing theatre . Inspiration for the first step descend for the most part from Portugal , where addiction andoverdoserates were among the high in the world until the regime decriminalized all drugs in 2001 . Since then , the Iberian country has seen a huge drop in the figure of people suffering from drug abuse disorder , while HIV infections as a result of acerate leaf sharing have also plump . The Drug Policy Alliance say that the new measure will write the state up to $ 100 million as a result of fewer arrests and incarcerations , all of which is mean to be used to pay for the new support services . This , it says , can be bolster up by the 140 million that the state raises each yr in tax revenue as a resultant of legal marijuana sales . Paradoxically , however , many of the substances that have been legitimatize in Oregon remain illegal under Union law of nature , so it remain to be seen how the Modern legislation is apply .