MEASURES ARE A STEP BACKWARD FOR OREGON

The failure of Measure 74 and the passage of Measure 73 were
questionable decisions to say the least. Oregon will be greatly
impacted by these choices, and while they do have understandable
points, the potential damages are much more dangerous than the upsides.

Declining Measure 74 means that we will not increase the distribution
of medical marijuana for citizens who need it. This failed, most
likely, on the account of the stigma that follows marijuana. We are so
afraid of it, that we disregard its inarguable medical value.

We allow drugs like Xanax, oxycodone and morphine to cause dependence,
pain and death, but shun a drug that has the same pain-relieving
effects as many of the more dangerous legal drugs.

Seven million people abuse medically prescribed drugs and 100,000
Americans die each year from them - but have you ever heard of anyone
dying from a marijuana overdose?

Because marijuana is much safer than most of our prescription
painkillers, and non-addictive, we should have made it as available as
possible to ailing citizens.

This bill wasn't legalizing it for recreational use for young adults,
it was improving its availability to sickened Oregonians who don't
want to become dependent on life-threatening pills.

The passing of Measure 73 forces mandatory minimum prison sentencings
of 90 days for people charged with three DUIs and 25 years for
two-time sexual offenders.

While it is understandable and more than respectable to want to
crackdown on criminals who have repeated mistakes, putting a person
who drinks and drives a lot into a prison will not rehabilitate them,
nor will it fight their alcoholism. The most effective way to do that
is to increase the power of court supervised intervention and to
create more effective rehab programs to teach them to behave
responsibly.

If someone is a repeat rapist, or if someone is a pedophile, they
should be served a heavy sentence.

But the establishment of a minimum prison sentence, which is expensive
and may not always be the best measure of punishment, makes for many
potential issues.

Measure 73 prevents judges in Oregon from doing their job. They cannot
exert their ability to judge if they are forced to serve such a
drastic minimum and are incapable of interpreting the situation to do
what they see fit under certain circumstances.

Even if the cause is reasonable, the means are unattainable through
our budget. Measure 73 is estimated to cost between $18 and $30
million a year, and with no real explanation of where the money will
come from, it is assumed that this will take from the general fund
which would usually aid other amenities.

Schooling, health care and public safety will all potentially receive
less funds because of Measure 73.

Prison was already an overbearing expenditure on our budget, but now,
it appears to be capable of growing faster than ever.

The state of Oregon must be weary of the aftermath of these decisions.
Because of them, people with medical marijuana needs will continue to
have difficulty acquiring it, and the budget will be forced to take
more cuts from an already crippled economy to provide money for the
changes in Measure 73.

These changes will impact our society and are very likely to cause
many disruptions in our political and economic flow.