Washinton state legislators were busy overhauling a state law created for people caught possessing illegal drugs or using them in public. The changes includes tougher penalties for illegal drug possession. There is a treatment versus jail for people who comply with certain treatment requirements. They can also seek to have their conviction vacated. Funding was added for treatment programs among other things. The changes will take effect on July 1.
The measure passed clearing the Senate on a 43-6 vote and the House by an 83-13 margin. The legislation was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. Lawmakers included $63 million in the bill. The legislation now permits cities and counties to set their own rules around drug paraphernalia for “harm reduction” initiatives.
The ACLU of Washington did not like the changes. It called the legislation “a huge step backwards in Washington’s fight against the ever-growing public health crises of substance use disorder and the opioid overdose epidemic.”
Many began getting nervous as the summer came that posed no jail for drug possession. The bill created tougher penalties for drug possession. This would now be a gross misdemeanor to include a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine on a first or second offense. For three strikes or three offenses, the jail term could rise to 364 days.
Lawmakers have avoided a situation where illegal drugs would have been decriminalized this summer. Localities took the opportunity to express concerns and ended getting their way in the new law. They allowed to adopt their own policies. Earlier, the legislature passed a temporary measure in 2021 setting a misdemeanor penalty for possession but scheduled that law to expire in July.
