A year ago, Oregon embarked on a bold program to right the wrongs of the failed war on drugs, decriminalizing low-level possession and boosting access to drug treatment, all the while hoping that this would become a model for other states. But a new report from Pew Trusts finds that it’s not clear yet if the effort is working, noting that it’s easier to eliminate criminal penalties for drugs than to ramp up behavioral health services and get more people to use them—and to do this during a pandemic. So far, Oregon’s inpatient facilities, detox clinics, and recovery-focused nonprofits have only received $30 million of an expected $300 million in funding, paid for from legal marijuana sales revenue. The facilities have also been battered by COVID worker shortages, and have not been able to expand services. Also, without the incentives provided by drug-court referrals, fewer than half of the 1,300 people cited for low-level possession have voluntarily shown up in court to make their case against paying the small fine. Only 51 people have called the state’s drug help hotline. Nevertheless, lawmakers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont are all considering drug decriminalization bills.
Meanwhile, global consulting firm McKinsey is again coming under Congressional scrutiny for its role in the opioid crisis. Congress is asking for company records related to its business practices, conflicts of interest, and management standards connected to its work with opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacy chains, as well as its work for the Food and Drug Administration. Earlier this year, McKinsey agreed to pay all 50 states more than $600 million to settle investigations into how it helped “turbocharge” opioid sales that contributed to the epidemic, which has killed more than 500,000 Americans over the past two decades. That settlement focused mainly on the firm’s work with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, which is seeking a settlement to end thousands of opioid-related lawsuits.
And finally, five years after Massachusetts legalized marijuana many of the promises made by pro-pot groups have not been realized, according to an analysis by the Boston Globe. While sales have boomed—generating more than $2.2 billion in revenue—social equity goals have fallen short, with just 16 of the 194 companies that have opened a marijuana facility owned by participants in the equity and economic empowerment program. Legalization does not appear to have markedly boosted youth usage of pot, although experts say that a proportion of cannabis consumers overuse the drug and find it hard to stop and that a relatively small number of prolific consumers account for an outsized share of legal cannabis sales. State police say there has not been an increase in driving while high arrests, but that may be due to an overall decline in driving during the pandemic, and the fact that there’s no breathalyzer-like device to accurately detect cannabis impairment.