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March 1, 2017 — Oregon voters overwhelmingly support a proposal to reduce penalties for drug possession, according to a new poll.
The poll comes as a new bill, Oregon HB 2355, supported by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon (ACLU of Oregon,) would change small-scale drug possession to a misdemeanor instead of a felony.
“The war on drugs has failed,” said David Rogers, the executive director of the ACLU of Oregon. “It has damaged families and cost taxpayers billions of dollars. A felony conviction for small-scale drug use is too harsh because it ruins people’s lives. Oregonians are ready for a smarter approach. This bill is our chance to win one, and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure it passes.”
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The poll also found that Oregonians were more likely to vote for both a district attorney or a sheriff who is reform minded. Nearly two out of three Oregonians know someone who has struggled with drug addiction.
![defelonization poll data defelonization poll results](https://live-aclu-oregon.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/styles/content_area_full_width/public/wysiwyg/3.png?itok=znZ7673A)
The poll was conducted by GBA Strategies, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm with deep experience on public opinion research about criminal justice, through live interviews, via phone and cell phone, using a probability sample of 600 registered Oregon voters, between Jan. 26 to 29. The answers provided reflect the entire population sampled. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence interval.