Release Date
Geography
Language of Resource
Full Text Available
Open Access / OK to Reproduce
Peer Reviewed
Objective
To evaluate whether the 2021 Oregon law (Measure 110) that decriminalized drug possession was associated with changes in fatal drug overdose rates after accounting for the rapid spread of fentanyl in Oregon’s unregulated drug market.
Findings/Key points
When taking into consideration the increasing prevalence in fentanyl in Oregon's illegal drug supply, no association between Measure 110 and fatal overdose rates was observed in the 2 years after it's enactment. Future evaluations of the health effects of drug policies should account for changes in the composition of unregulated drug markets.
Design/methods
In this cohort study, the association between fatal overdose and enactment of Measure 110 was analyzed using a matrix completion synthetic control method. The control group consisted of the 48 US states and Washington, DC, all of which did not decriminalize drugs. The rapid spread of fentanyl in unregulated drug markets was determined using the state-level percentage of all samples reported to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System that were identified as fentanyl or its analogues. Mortality data were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2022.
