Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Friday, April 21, 2023 at 9:15 a.m.
More than two dozen mayors from across the state, in a show of widespread concern, signed and sent a letter to state legislators this week urging them to establish tougher boundaries for drug possession and preserve local control over drug use laws.
Mayors from Spokane to Kennewick in eastern Washington and Marysville to Puyallup along the I-5 corridor signed the two-page letter expressing concern that the House version of the proposed update to state law governing drug possession lacks adequate accountability and restricts local jurisdictions from regulating public drug use. Mayors from Spokane, Spokane Valley, Cheney, Liberty Lake, Medical Lake, and Millwood signed the letter locally.
“Public safety is the top job of mayors, and our communities are begging for tougher boundaries when it comes to drug use and possession,” Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said. “We need a sensible, balanced approach that includes completing treatment for those willing, a nudge for those who need it, and clear boundaries for the health, safety, and security of everyone who enjoys our community. The Senate version did a reasonable job of working through the passionate debate on all sides.”
Woodward initiated the letter after the House removed language from the version passed by the Senate that would make knowingly possessing drugs a gross misdemeanor with mandatory sentencing minimums while ensuring completion of treatment. The version passed by the House makes it a misdemeanor and removes minimum sentencing in favor of treatment options without requiring completion. The Legislature is in the concurrence process of negotiating a compromise because of the differences in the versions passed by the Senate and the House.
“I signed this because I vowed to help make Yakima a safer and healthier community. That includes the safety and health of all our citizens – including those with substance use disorders,” Yakima Mayor Janice Deccio said. “We want people to get the help they need. We also want the streets of our city free from public drug use, and the accompanying violence, intimidation, and vandalism that our citizens are tired of experiencing. Yakima citizens should feel safe visiting the downtown core, or any other area of the city.”
“We need tools to keep our communities safe and to connect those struggling with addiction to treatment,” Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin said. “While it’s important to have compassion for those who are suffering, it’s equally important to have accountability and that’s what we want to see included in this legislation. It truly is a matter of life and death in Everett and throughout our state.”
The current state law, which requires two referrals to treatment before an individual can be arrested is set to sunset this summer, was established following a state Supreme Court case commonly known as “the Blake decision” that struck down the previous law that made possession a felony. The current law was a temporary “fix” based on successful argument in the Blake case that the defendant was unaware drugs were inside a small pocket in her jeans.
The letter, which was sent to 54 legislators on Wednesday, acknowledges substance use disorder as a medical issue. It goes on to assert that because individual decision-making is impaired by drug use, the law needs to provide “tougher guardrails so that individuals enter and complete the necessary treatment and service” and urges the Legislature “retain the mandatory minimums and gross misdemeanor penalty in the Senate version” as the final law.
Mayors also expressed concern about “the addition to the legislation language that restricts the ability of local jurisdictions to regulate the public use of drugs.” Cities, including Marysville, Bellingham, Lakewood, and Kent, have a law criminalizing local public drug use laws. Others, including Spokane, are working on one.
Woodward partnered with councilmembers Jonathan Bingle and Michael Cathcart on the Safe Open Spaces ordinance that would make open drug use in public space a misdemeanor. The City Council deferred consideration of the ordinance until next month.
