If you don’t like Measure 110 and its decriminalization of most possession of illegal drugs, blame Portugal.

Blaming Portugal is not entirely fair. But Portugal was held up as a model in how to win the war on drugs. The idea there was to treat drug problems as an addiction and not a crime. The country decriminalized most possession.

Sound familiar? It’s what voters wanted with Measure 110.

Now there is a minor hullabaloo over some Oregon legislators traveling to Portugal to learn more about how decriminalization has worked. The trip is being partially paid by none other than a major backer of Measure 110, “the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, a coalition of state and national groups,” The Oregonian reported.

A recent poll showed a majority of Oregonians are disillusioned with the approach and support a repeal. A coalition of civic and business leaders say they are lobbying lawmakers to make minor possession a crime again, and, if that doesn’t work, they will pursue a ballot measure to that end next year.

It apparently is ethical for the group to pay for legislators to take the trip. It is a fact-finding effort, not a vacation. Mostly Democratic legislators are going. One Republican, state Rep. Lily Morgan, R-Grants Pass, is too. She is an opponent of Measure 110. That should add some needed balance.

Measure 110 needs help. The way it was crafted was an affront to logic. Handing an addicted person a ticket with essentially no consequences does not convince them to seek treatment. Some people are ready to repeal it. Ballot measures are brewing.

There won’t be a miracle with anything Oregon’s fact finders find in Portugal.

The trip will take place from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3. The Oregon delegation will meet with the chief architect of Portugal’s policy as well as police, government leaders and people who have been incarcerated for their drug use. The group will also tour the largest drug treatment center in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital.

There is not going to be perfection in any effort to stop something that preys so well on human imperfections.

The fact finders should remember it is not Measure 110 that must be saved. It is lives.