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This project sought to understand the effects of successive drug policy reforms in the state of Oregon. These include three changes since 2013 to reduce the enforcement and punishment of low-level drug possession. House Bill 3194 passed in 2013, which reduced mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana offenses and diverted more driving and drug-related offenses to probation. House Bill 2355 passed in 2017, which reclassified Schedule I and II possession of controlled substance (PCS), reducing these from a moderate felony to a misdemeanor. Then in 2021, M110 was implemented, downgrading certain quantities of PCS from a misdemeanor to a citation, resulting in a maximum 100 dollar fine or completed health assessment.

The researchers conducted a retrospective longitudinal analysis using statewide administrative data to assess the impacts of these drug law reforms. Measures included police stops, PCS arrests, court filings, convictions, jail and prison admissions, crime rates, drug seizures, and drug-related overdose deaths.

For this survey, respondents from three counties in the Detroit, Michigan, area were queried about their health, satisfaction with their health care, end of life decisions, policies about life and death decisions, and experiences with life and death decisions. The first set of questions asked respondents to rate their own health and to indicate whether they had seen a health care professional in the past five years as well as what type of health professional they had seen. They were also asked whether or not they trust the health care provider's judgment on medical decisions and whether they felt that a doctor or family members would follow the respondent's instructions for life sustaining procedures. The survey also explored how satisfied respondents were with the amount of time they spent with their doctor and the doctor's response to questions as well as their honesty and concern for their patient. Additional questions asked respondents how concerned HMO's are with costs and patient health and what their opinions were on how much money is spent on medical technology and care for terminally ill patients. Another set of questions sought respondent's opinions on terminating a patient's life support in a variety of different situations, including the treatment of critically ill infants. The survey also asked whether respondents or their family had ever experienced an end-of-life decision, whether they have discussed end-of-life decisions, and what types of methods they would consider. Respondents were also asked about their attitudes on the death penalty, abortion in certain situations, physician assisted suicide and the 1998 proposal to legalize physician assisted suicide. Background information includes marital status, employment, political orientation, and income.