Oregon recriminalizes drug possession. How many people are in jail for drug-related crimes?

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has signed a bill into law that ends the first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law that was enacted three years ago.

House Bill 4002, recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs. The new measure will go into effect this fall, the Salem Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.

Since Measure 110 took effect in early 2021, arrests for possession of a controlled substance dropped 67%, the Prison Policy Initiative reported. Starting Sept. 1, a person with small amounts of illicit drugs will face a new “drug enforcement misdemeanor," according to the new law.

The total number of people incarcerated for drug offenses remains much higher compared to the 1970s – before a national "war on drugs" ramped up the enforcement of anti-drug laws.

Currently, one in five incarcerated people is locked up for a drug offense, the Prison Policy Initiative found. On any given day, state, local and federal prisons house an estimated 361,000 people who are being held for drug offenses, according to the initiative.

Which states decriminalize drug possession?

Oregon was the only state to decriminalize illicit drug possession. While no state has gone as far as Oregon, others have taken a harm reduction approach to drug use and possession − the concept of keeping people alive and as healthy as possible for a chance at recovery − while recognizing that punitive measures such as prison sentences haven’t solved the problem.

Measures have been proposed to decriminalize some or all drug possession in states including Maine and Vermont. In Providence, Rhode Island, the City Council last month approved a state-sanctioned safe injection site. Two such centers exist in New York. Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada have also considered adding them.

A Washington law that made drug possession a felony was struck down by the state Supreme Court in 2021, Axios reported. Those with pending drug possession charges had their cases dismissed. Now drug possession is a non-felony offense in the state.

Decriminalization of weed

Twenty-seven states along with Washington, D.C., have decriminalized the possession of small amounts of cannabis The use and possession of medical and/or recreational weed is legal in such states.

The federal government is currently considering changing marijuana’s place in the Controlled Substances Act list, which would essentially say that marijuana is not as bad as other drugs such as heroin and ecstasy and can be legally prescribed and dispensed at licensed pharmacies. Advocates and experts on marijuana law say it’s one small step toward the ultimate goal of total decriminalization at the federal level, but they don’t think that will happen any time soon. 

How have drug arrest changed in the U.S?

For almost every year in the past decade, the annual number of arrests for drug possession topped one million. Drug possession arrests experienced a steep decline during the first year of the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, the top drug involved in arrests for drug possession was marijuana. In 2019, nearly 40% of drug possession arrests involved marijuana, according to the FBI crime data explorer.

In 2020, the category "other dangerous nonnarcotic drugs," were the top drugs involved in arrests for drug possession. Arrest data from the FBI's crime data explorer is an undercount of the true total number of arrests. Reported statistics are based on data received from 15,665 of 18,888 participating law enforcement agencies in the country that year, according to their site.

Map shows state prisoners arrested for drug offense

Thousands of people are incarcerated in federal prisons, state and county jails for drug-related crimes. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operates U.S. federal prisons, reported that 44.4% of its inmates are serving time for drug-related offenses, that's 64,081 people.

At the end of 2021, 12.5% of prisoners in state correctional custody had drug-related offenses.

The share of prisoners in state correctional custody in Oregon, Washington and California for drug-related offenses was much lower than its neighboring state of Idaho. Drug manufacturing and possession is a felony in Idaho rather than a misdemeanor, leading to more severe punishment such as a lengthy prison sentence.

A recent report from the Department of Justice found that the total U.S. prison population increased 2.1% between 2021 and 2022. This was the first increase in the combined state and federal prison population in almost a decade, according to the report.

Oregon recriminalizes drugs:What does that mean for the state?