Lawmakers in Washington are racing against time to stop the state from becoming the second nation to decriminalize hard drug possession.
Gov. Jay Inslee is trying to recall lawmakers to a special session on Tuesday after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a new drug law during its regular session.
A 24-year-old homeless man smokes fentanyl on March 12, 2022 in Seattle. If lawmakers don’t pass a new law by then, hard drug possession will be decriminalized on July 1. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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Republican Rep. Peter Avano told Fox News, “We knew last year that we needed to pass a bill on this.” “It is very disappointing to find the can kicked all the way down the road.”
The problem started in 2021. Washington Supreme Court The state’s felony ban on drug possession did not include a willfulness requirement and was revoked as unconstitutional. Lawmakers temporarily made drug possession a misdemeanor in an effort to find a permanent solution.
But that hasn’t happened yet and the misdemeanor law expires on July 1.
Abbarno said several bills have been proposed to address the issue. Senate Bill 5536, which makes possession a felony, came closest to passing, but was defeated on the last day of Congress by all 40 Republicans and 15 Democrats.
Mr. Abarno said the bill was “frustrating.” House Republicans argued that the prison conversion process was too lenient and led to a revolving door for crime.
Abbarno said his ideal drug possession bill would balance “accountability and compassion.”
“When I look around my area, I don’t want to see people suffering from addiction who just went to jail. I want them to get the services they need,” he said.
But he also wants to ensure that “people are responsible” for their use and possession of dangerous drugs like fentanyl.
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With overdose rates soaring and public drug use becoming commonplace in many cities, some local governments have passed their own laws to crack down on drugs. Marysville It was the first city in the state to re-criminalize possession and subsequently passed another ordinance making public drug use an arrestable offense.
If states don’t replace misdemeanor laws, he predicts a “domino effect,” with cities enacting their own drug laws.
“I hope everyone puts their feet on the fire and we really do our job and come out of it with consensus,” he said.
Washington’s southern neighbor Oregon became the first state in the country to decriminalize drug possession after voters approved Bill 110 in 2020.
But criticism of the law is mounting as overdose deaths continue to rise. found in audit State health officials were unable to provide data on how hundreds of millions of dollars spent on addiction treatment were spent.
“We look at what the communities and states around us are doing and how we can improve it,” said Abano, president of a district in Southwest Washington. “You don’t often want to follow them down the rabbit hole.”
Drug use and homelessness are seen in the commercial district of Everett, Washington on February 9, 2023. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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The special session in Washington will last 30 days, but Mr. Inslee’s office said it could end within days if lawmakers reach a deal.
The state legislature has already allocated more than $600 million in new spending for services for people with substance use disorders.
