Happy Veteran’s Day, muggles. In honor, veterans and Gold Star families will receive free lifetime access to national parks from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Typically costing $80 annually, the pass is called “America the Beautiful” and includes access to more than 400 million acres of public lands. Here are some stories we also wanted to make freely accessible to you.

Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize small amounts of all drugs

Mon Nov 9

The people of Oregon have spoken, replacing jail time for drug possession with traffic ticket-like punishment. This comes as a result of Oregon voters approving Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession and personal use of all drugs. The measure also expands access to addiction assistance and other health services — and this will all be funded through millions of dollars from Oregon’s cannabis tax (talk about full circle 👏).

Decriminalizing drug possession is estimated to reduce convictions by 90% — from 4,057 convictions in 2019 to just around 400 next year. And the new law could also lead to a 95% drop in convictions fo Black and Indigenous Oregonians. Some researchers and doctors also say this will reduce the risk of deadly overdose because the highest risk occurs in the two weeks after being discharged from correctional institutions. 

While this new law is a first in the U.S., Portugal decriminalized all drugs two decades ago. In Portugal:

• Drug use rates are lower than the average in Europe
• Drug use rates are a lot lower than the U.S.
• Rates of HIV infections have decreased
• Arrests for other drug-related offenses fell by 60%
• People enrolled in drug treatment programs increased by 60%
• Drug overdose deaths fell significantly

And all this happened even during periods of economic crisis and high unemployment.

SOURCES: CNN, AP News, The Intercept, Oregon Criminal Justice Commission

Ruling party wins in Myanmar amid claims of disenfranchisement

Mon Nov 9

The U.S. wasn’t the only contentious election happening around the world. On Sunday, people in Myanmar voted in its general election — and it’s kind of a big deal because it’s only the second election not under military rule. The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi has won again, and is projected to claim more seats in parliament than it did in 2015. 

Wait, only second?

Myanmar has a long history under military rule, but began to withdraw its nearly 50 year presence from civilian politics there. The first democratic election in 2015 was won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party. Since then though, Suu Kyi has received wide criticism for the reports of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority.

But the E.U. and Britain says Myanmar prevented more than a million people, including hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from voting. The country’s government currently does not consider most Rohingya to be citizens of Myanmar, but instead sees them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh — even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

SOURCES: Al Jazeera, The New York Times, NPR, BBC