Program date: Jan. 5, 2024
Air date: Jan. 8, 2024
From the City Club of Eugene:
In November 2020, a near-landslide of Oregon voters – 58.5% – approved Measure 110, which generally decriminalized small-scale possession of illicit drugs. Passage of the law was a call to change the state’s basic approach to drug abuse.
Voters rejected the long-standing policy of criminalizing drug offenses; the half-century “war on drugs” was widely proven to be a failure. That approach relied strongly on law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and imprisonment to respond to substance use disorders and illicit drug sales. Critics noted that relatively few people really kicked their habits in prison, and, once they had served their terms, their lives were so constricted and they had so few practical choices about where to live or work that they often relapsed.
Although some have called for repeal of Measure 110, most legislative activity now seems to involve amendments and fixes. The goal is to set a new direction, one that works better and reflects the will of the voters to help more people recover from addictions and send fewer to jail.
Does Measure 110 need to be fixed? If so, how? This issue will be a major concern of Oregon Legislature’s Short Session starting in February. City Club’s first program of 2024 has proposals and ideas, including what science teaches about what works.
Speakers:
Camille Cioffi, PhD, is a research scientist at the University of Oregon Prevention Science Institute, the Oregon Research Institute, and Influents Innovations. Her research focuses on improving health, mental health, and substance use outcomes among people with substance use disorders. Her work centers on highly stigmatized populations, including people who are pregnant, parenting, and houseless, and those who inject drugs. She collaborates closely with substance use disorder service providers across Lane County, the State of Oregon, and the nation. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. She has published more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and has fulfilled multiple Oregon Health Authority contracts focused on the use of evidence-based research to support improvements in health systems. She earned a PhD in Prevention Science from the University of Oregon.
Christopher Parosa has been a prosecutor for over 19 years. He has prosecuted thousands of criminal cases, including misdemeanors, drug offenses, domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, and homicides. He has trained hundreds of police officers, parole and probation officers, victim advocates, community partners, prosecutors, and law students. In addition, he has completed a number of specialty assignments through the years, assisting the vehicular homicide team and teaching as an adjunct instructor at the UO School of Law’s Prosecutor Clinic. He earned a BA in political science at Oregon State University and a JD at UO Law School.
Brittiny Raine is cofounder of Community Outreach through Racial Empowerment (C.O.R.E.), a Eugene non-profit dedicated to supporting, advocating for, and empowering young people. Since 2008, she has worked primarily with young people and families in a variety of social work and harm reduction programs. These include drop-in centers, shelters, street outreach teams, and management positions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social and human services with a focus on social justice at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.
About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers. The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.
Video and Broadcast
This program will be live streamed, and the videotape will be made available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and You Tube Channel, in addition to our website. It will be broadcast on Monday, Jan. 8, at 7:00 pm, on KLCC 89.7 FM.
Contact: For more information, visit CityClubOfEugene.org.