I want your readers to know that I can hold my 230 pound, 6-foot-2 son in the palm of my hand. Why? Because what’s left of him fills half of a ziplock bag.

On April 13, 2015, my son, Ryan Culley, was successful in his suicide attempt. He had run out of hope. He had no job, no prospects of finding even a minimal employment, had lost contact with his children and lived by the grace of his parents and friends.

Many parents in Oregon have children who have lost hope and chosen to make such a drastic decision. I still wonder today if my son would be alive if Oregon had stopped stigmatizing people with mental health and addiction issues, and instead had provided better access to services. That’s why I support Measure 110.

Oregon’s drug laws are antiquated. Instead of helping people who struggle with addiction, we punish them, give them criminal records, send them to jail, stigmatize them. It’s cruel, ineffective and expensive. Criminal records and punishments only make it harder for people with serious mental health and addiction issues.

Measure 110 on the November ballot is a way to help address the imbalance or Oregon’s current drug laws. Measure 110 won’t legalize drugs, but it will shift us to a health-based approach, where people are offered treatment instead of jail. Measure 110 doesn’t create a new tax. The money to pay for it will come from existing taxes on marijuana.

Please join me in voting yes on Measure 110. It’s a more humane and effective approach.

Jorja Culley

La Grande

The East Oregonian does not run endorsements of more than 400 words.

The East Oregonian will institute a deadline for letters to the editor, so we can be fair with all the letters we receive and allow for responses before Election Day, if necessary.

We run the letters on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please submit your endorsement letters to the editor by noon Friday, Oct. 23. You can email them to editor@eastoregonian.com, or mail them to East Oregonian, c/o Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendletone, 97801.

We will publish our last letters on Saturday, Oct. 31. Any letters received after the deadline will not run. Election Day is Nov. 3.