LEGALIZING IT โ
May 26, 2023 – That need for oversight was demonstrated on Wednesday when state officials terminated a $1.5 million grant agreement with a drug recovery nonprofit in Klamath Falls accused of failing to submit completed expenditure and data reports and buying a building for more than double the authorized amount.
That $1.5 million is just a drop in a huge bucket โ $264.6 million has been allocated to date for recovery centers โ and state officials have a massive responsibility to ensure the money does what it is supposed to: combating drug use in a state with one of the nationโs highest addiction rates.
Oregonโs drug decriminalization had a rocky start after voters approved it in a 2020 ballot measure. Only a tiny number of people have accessed treatment services after being ticketed for possessing drugs, and funding to treatment providers was delayed.
