Measure 110 manager’s exit raises fresh questions about Oregon’s drug decriminalization program

Published 1:20 pm Tuesday, August 15, 2023

The manager Oregon hired in August 2021 to run its Measure 110 drug decriminalization program went on extended medical leave a year later and resigned in July with a blistering letter that accused the Oregon Heath Authority of failing to ensure the program had adequate resources to move quickly enough.

Angela Carter’s letter, first made public last week by The Lund Report, comes as public scrutiny of the program has increased and as lawmakers have sought to address Measure 110’s shaky implementation.

The ballot measure sought to improve treatment options for people addicted to drugs and deemphasize criminal penalties. But its adoption coincided with the rise of the fentanyl epidemic and overdoses across Oregon.

That has produced intense criticism of the program, with skeptics faulting the state for eliminating criminal penalties before establishing alternate pathways to encourage people to seek treatment for addictions.

If the department had staffed the program appropriately, Carter said Oregon would have had treatment options available much sooner to help combat rising addiction rates.

“That would have resulted in community organizations doing their work, receiving their funding in a timely manner,” Carter told The Oregonian.

In a statement Monday, health authority officials noted that Carter has not held an active role in Oregon’s Measure 110 program since going on leave in August 2022. A department staffer named Jessica Carroll has been running the program on an interim basis since then. Carter, who also filed a workplace civil rights complaint against the health authority in January, resigned July 17.

The agency said the 42 addiction treatment centers established under Measure 110 — known as Behavioral Health Resource Networks — have been operating during the period Carter, a naturopath, was on leave.

“OHA appreciates Dr. Carter’s hard work and dedication to the Measure 110 program and wishes Dr. Carter well going forward,” the agency said.

The health agency’s Measure 110 program administered about $270 million in grants to community organizations for the treatment centers. A separate oversight and accountability council chooses where the money will go.