LAWMAKERS PASS BILL KEEPING DRUGS ILLEGAL
Washington lawmakers approved a major new drug policy as they returned to work for a special session Tuesday, saying it strikes a balance between public order and compassion for those struggling with substance abuse.
The compromise reached a day earlier by Democratic and Republican leaders seeks to bridge a gap between liberals who believe drugs should be decriminalized and conservatives who insist the threat of jail is necessary to force people into treatment.
The bill retains criminal penalties for drug possession, making it a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. But police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment or other services, and the measure provides millions of additional dollars for diversion programs and to provide short-term housing for people with substance-use disorders.
The Senate voted 43-6 in favor; the House 83-13 in favor.
Lawmakers are under pressure to pass a bill not just because of the soaring addiction crisis, but because of a self-imposed deadline: A temporary, 2-year-old law that makes intentional drug possession illegal is due to expire July 1.
Unless the compromise becomes law, drug possession — even of fentanyl and other dangerous opiates — will become decriminalized under state law. The only other state that has tried decriminalizing drug possession is neighboring Oregon, where the experiment is off to a rocky start.
Gov. Jay Inslee called lawmakers for the special session after they failed to pass a new drug law last month.
Several lawmakers made emotional statements about losing close relatives to addiction. Sen. Ron Muzzall, a Republican, broke up as he described how his niece, Rachel Marshall — the creator of the popular Seattle company Rachel’s Ginger Beer — died last month.
“If we cannot offer hope for these people that are in the throes of addiction, what good are we?” he said. “I failed. My niece, whom I loved and had a great relationship, she hid that addiction from me.”