Drug legalization is at the doorstep of Washington State. If lawmakers don’t reconvene and take action before July 1, Washington is set to become the second U.S. state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs. Oregon lead the way when it’s voters approved an initiative to do so in 2020. Local officials around Washington state — including in Seattle — are proposing their own laws to punish drug use, now that drug possession is set to become decriminalized statewide this summer.
Lawmakers are wringing their hands on what can be done. Washington’s Legislature adjourned a week ago without agreeing on a new law addressing drug possession. Washington’s drug possession law is expiring. The law was put in place as a temporary response to a 2021 state Supreme Court ruling, which struck down Washington’s longstanding law that made drug possession a felony.
Many are aware of harm reduction which seeks strategy to reduce harm caused by drugs. Some believe that laws and enforcement can be worse than the effects of drugs. Treatment is considered less costly than the criminal justice system. State lawmakers agreed to make drug possession a misdemeanor offense for two years, with the requirement that people be offered treatment for their first two violations.
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison and two Seattle City Council members announced a local proposal to charge people with a misdemeanor if they use drugs publicly within city limits. Policymakers are struggling with how to address rising overdose deaths from fentanyl and other drugs, while weighing if criminal penalties are harmful or helpful in getting people into treatment.
Washington’s Governor Jay Inslee said that he hopes to bring the Legislature back for a special session to address the issue this month, before the state’s current drug law expires. King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn proposed legislation at the county level to address drug offenders. Also, local government officials in Sultan, Everett and Snohomish County said they would look to do the same.
