Oregon Voters Want Measure 110 to Remain in Place

By Anika Dandekar and Tenneth Fairclough II

In November 2020, the state of Oregon passed Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs and diverted millions of dollars of marijuana taxes to addiction services, by a +17-point margin. 

A new Data for Progress survey of 1,051 Oregon voters finds that the law retains strong majority support. Not only do a majority of Oregon voters believe drug use and addiction is a public health issue and that Measure 110 should remain in place, but voters overwhelmingly support individual provisions of the law, and understand that Measure 110 is not contributing to crime and homelessness in Oregon.

Oregon Voters’ View of How Drug Use Should Be Approached

First, we asked Oregon voters if they believe drug use and addiction should be addressed through the public health system or the criminal system. Likely Oregon voters believe drug use should be addressed through the public health system by a +48-point margin (72 percent for public health system, 24 percent for criminal system). We find shared agreement on this statement across partisanship, with 90 percent of Democrats believing that drug use should be addressed through the public health system, while Independents agree by a +39-point margin, and Republicans agree by a +12-point margin. 

We also find agreement with this statement across Oregon by region. Using self-identified counties, we grouped voters into the following regions: Portland Metro, Willamette Valley/North Coast, Central Oregon, Eastern Oregon, and Southwestern Oregon. Seventy-six percent of Portland Metro voters believe that drug use should be dealt with through the public health system. Willamette Valley/North Coast voters also agree by a +50-point margin, Eastern Oregon voters agree by a +40-point margin, Southwestern Oregon voters agree by a +31-point margin, and Central Oregon voters agree by a +28-point margin.

 
 

Voters Continue to Support Measure 110 — and All Its Provisions

Next, we asked Oregon voters if they believe Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs and diverted millions of dollars of marijuana taxes toward addiction services, should be repealed. We find that likely Oregon voters believe Measure 110 should remain in place by a +22-point margin (58 percent think it should remain in place, 36 percent think the measure should be repealed). Democrats enthusiastically support the measure: 82 percent of them believe that Measure 110 should remain in place. A majority of Independents also agree, by a +21-point margin, while close to a third of Republicans (31 percent) believe that Measure 110 should remain in place. 

Across Oregon, majorities of voters believe Measure 110 should remain in place. We find the highest support among Portland Metro voters, who believe that Measure 110 should remain in place by a +32-point margin. We also find other regions of Oregon support keeping the measure in place by a simple majority or higher: Willamette Valley/North Coast voters by a +19-point margin, Central Oregon voters by a +13-point margin, Eastern Oregon voters by a +11-point margin, and Southwestern Oregon voters by a +7-point margin.  

 
 

We then highlighted key components of Measure 110 and asked Oregon voters if they support or oppose each provision. Voters overwhelmingly support individual provisions of Measure 110: 

  • 91 percent favor peer support mentoring for those struggling with substance use

  • 90 percent back supporting individuals in achieving and retaining employment

  • 86 percent support funding services to help addiction recovery 

  • 86 percent support developing plans for individuals’ health and other needs

  • 84 percent support helping individuals obtain and retain safe housing

  • 62 percent support funding harm reduction interventions, such as access to naloxone or syringe exchange programs

  • 61 percent support eliminating criminal penalties around drug possession for personal use

Peer support mentoring, supporting employment, funding addiction services, developing health and needs plans, and supporting housing are all backed by significant majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans.

 
 

Voters Believe Measure 110 Must Remain in Place 

We then asked Oregon voters whether they believe Measure 110 should be kept in place so that Oregonians aren’t punished for mental health reasons and can continue to have access to addiction services, or if Measure 110 should be repealed, with Oregon returning to arresting people caught with any amount of drugs and defunding services that Measure 110 provides. Voters in Oregon believe, by a +31-point margin, that Measure 110 should be kept in place so that people can continue to access services. 

Across partisanship, we find that 85 percent of Democrats believe Measure 110 should be kept in place, while Independents agree by a +28-point margin. A third of Republicans (33 percent) believe that Measure 110 should be kept in place so that Oregonians can continue to have better access to addiction services. We also find voters agree with this sentiment across regions, with the highest support in Portland Metro by a +42-point margin and Eastern Oregon by a +33-point margin. Willamette Valley/North Coast voters agree by a +27-point margin, and voters in both Central Oregon and Southwestern Oregon want to keep Measure 110 by a +12-point margin.

 
 

Voters Do Not Believe Measure 110 is Contributing to Crime and Homelessness

Finally, we asked Oregon voters what they believe is contributing to crime and homelessness in Oregon. We find that likely Oregon voters believe that crime and homelessness occurring in Oregon is due to multiple factors, such as lack of affordable housing and poverty, by a +41-point margin. 

Across partisanship, we find that more than three-quarters of Democrats (87 percent) overwhelmingly hold this belief, while Independents agree by a +46-point margin. Even 45 percent of Republicans believe that there are other factors contributing to crime and homelessness in Oregon. We also find agreement across regions that Measure 110 is not viewed as responsible for increased crime and homelessness, with the highest agreement in Portland Metro by a +49-point margin and Willamette Valley/North Coast by a +45-point margin. Nearly two-thirds of Southwestern Oregon voters believe in this sentiment by a +29-point margin, as well as Central Oregon voters by a +26-point margin. A plurality of Eastern Oregon voters also do not view Measure 110 as responsible for increased crime and homelessness by a +5-point margin. 

 
 

Conclusion

Since Measure 110’s passage, the debate about the effects of the law and whether it should remain in place has intensified. Our polling shows that Oregon voters continue to support the measure now, as they did when they voted on it in the 2020 election, and want the measure to continue to provide resources to Oregonians to support addiction recovery. It should be clear to state lawmakers that their voters want Measure 110 to be preserved, protected, and bolstered.

Anika Dandekar (@anikadandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.

Tenneth Fairclough II (@tenten_wins) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.

Survey Methodology

From August 23 to 29, 2022, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,051 likely voters in Oregon using SMS and web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. Regional crosstabs were created by grouping respondents based on self-identified counties. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

Meg FarleyClimate, State-level Polling