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Thursday 4 May 2023

Washington state to decriminalize drugs unless lawmakers act

Continued from Front they have no intention of
returning to the punitive
“Cities and counties are ea- approach of the war on
ger to see a statewide poli- drugs.
cy that balances account- But Republicans object-
ability and treatment, and I ed that the bill did not do
believe we can produce a enough to ensure account-
bipartisan bill that does just ability for offenders; would
that,” Inslee said. preempt local bans on
A temporary law that drug paraphernalia; and
makes possession of small would create recovery resi-
amounts of drugs a misde- dences where those trying
meanor expires on July 1, to maintain sobriety might
so if lawmakers fail to pass stay with those who con-
a bill, Washington would tinue to use drugs.
become the second state “I want these people to
— after neighboring Or- get better,” said Rep. Greg
egon — to decriminalize Cheney, R-Battle Ground,
drug possession. Cities and a lawyer with experience
counties would be free to in drug courts, said during
adopt their own approach- a floor debate last month.
es to drug possession and “But not requiring them to
paraphernalia, creating acknowledge they have
a patchwork of laws that Patients line up to pick up medication for opioid addiction at a clinic in Olympia, Wash., on March a problem is not the right
27, 2020.
could undermine efforts to Associated Press path to go.”
treat addiction as a public Many liberal Democrats,
health issue. a death toll rivaling that of to come up with a long- phernalia, such as clean meanwhile, said they were
Lawmakers said Tuesday COVID-19 in Seattle,” Nel- term policy. glass tubes for smoking fen- opposed to making drug
they were increasingly op- son said in a statement. But as this year’s session tanyl. possession a crime at all.
timistic they can reach a “Complacency is no longer ended late last month, a And it would have included Rep. Tarra Simmons, of
compromise to avoid those an option.” measure billed as a com- funding for drug crisis cen- Bremerton, who spent time
consequences. The Washington Supreme promise was voted down in ters; a pilot program for in prison on drug charges
“I’ve cleared my sched- Court in 2021 struck down the Democratic-controlled health engagement hubs before becoming a lawyer
ule,” said state Rep. Roger the state law making drug House 55-43. It would have where users could access and a lawmaker, said she
Goodman, D-Kirkland. “I’m possession a felony. The increased potential pen- clean drug parapherna- was willing to vote to make
working day and night on court said it was uncon- alties for drug possession, lia and connect with other it a misdemeanor as part of
this.” stitutional because it did making it a gross misde- services; and expanded a compromise that would
Like other states, Wash- not require prosecutors to meanor punishable by up access to withdrawal medi- increase services.
ington has wrestled with prove that someone know- to a year in jail, rather than cation in jails and prisons. But a gross misdemeanor
what to do with an over- ingly had the drugs. Wash- a misdemeanor punishable Without those provisions of is actually worse than its
dose crisis worsened by the ington was the only state by up to 90 days. the bill being passed, the old status as a felony, she
widespread availability of in the country without that It also would have elimi- state’s approach to drugs suggested, because the
cheap, deadly fentanyl. requirement. nated the requirement that amounts to “an entire di- felony came with a sen-
Public drug use is rampant In response, lawmakers that police refer a person’s first version system with noth- tencing recommendation
in cities around the state, year made intentional drug two offenses for treatment ing to divert people to,” of zero to six months for
and deaths have soared. possession a misdemeanor rather than prosecution, said Caleb Banta-Green, the first three offenses; the
Several Washington cit- and required police to re- enabling officers to arrest a research professor at the gross misdemeanor is up to
ies have already contem- fer offenders to evaluation someone for a first offense University of Washington a year in jail. Judges in mu-
plated or passed new drug or treatment for their first if they thought it appropri- School of Medicine. nicipal courts around the
laws in the absence of leg- two offenses — but there ate, while also encourag- “We need $50 million to state could keep punishing
islative action. Seattle City was no obvious way for of- ing police and prosecutors $100 million statewide and those struggling with addic-
Attorney Ann Davison and ficers to track how many to divert cases. Judges a health engagement hub tion, she said.
two City Council members, times someone had been could impose jail time for in each county, and we “It was really hard for me
Sara Nelson and Alex Ped- referred, and availability of people who refuse treat- could cut deaths in half in not to vote for all the good
ersen, have proposed a treatment remained inad- ment or repeatedly fail to a year,” he said. “We know things in that bill,” Simmons
ban on public use. equate. comply. what to do.” said. “But we don’t need to
“Our hands-off approach Lawmakers made the mea- It would have made clear Democratic and Republi- cause people more pain in
to people using illegal sure temporary — having that public health workers can lawmakers agree on order to help them.”q
drugs in public has resulted it expire July 1, 2023 — to could not be prosecuted the need to increase ser-
in rampant street crime and give themselves two years for giving out drug para- vices, with many saying