Drugs

Law & Courts

What's next for Seattle drug law? Mayor, council look ahead

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis said Friday he is working with City Attorney Ann Davison’s office and other stakeholders to revisit the city’s approach to drug offenses. That’s after Lewis cast the decisive vote Tuesday to prevent the city’s adoption of a new state drug law into municipal code.

Week in Review: drug enforcement, wildfires, and cash

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with freelance science journalist Jane C. Hu, Geekwire’s Mike Lewis, and Seattle Times Patrick Malone.

Law & Courts

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison says she's not leading a new 'war on drugs'

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison wants her office to prosecute people arrested for drugs.

Law & Courts

Will WA’s new drug law help or hurt people struggling with addiction?

Washington has a new law on drug possession. Governor Inslee signed it Tuesday, just hours after lawmakers returned for a special session. It contains increased penalties for drug use and possession, and more funding for addiction treatment. Mayors say the language grants them the autonomy they needed, while proponents of harm reduction worry that cities will stymie their efforts amidst a crisis of drug overdose deaths.

Government

Gov. Inslee signs new drug possession law after special legislative session

The Washington state Legislature approved a bipartisan compromise Tuesday to address drug possession and treatment during a one-day special session and Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill into law.

Government

WA Legislature votes on a Blake fix. Now drug courts have to adapt

In the hours before Washington’s legislative session ended last month, House Democrats called a vote. It was for a fix to what’s called “The Blake Decision” -- a 2021 state Supreme Court ruling striking down Washington’s felony drug possession law. In response, legislators put in place a temporary fix that treated knowingly carrying drugs as a misdemeanor. That measure is set to expire July 1st. But as the clock ticked down on the regular session, the votes weren’t there. The State House failed to pass the bill, which threw the future of the state’s drug possession law into question – and prompted a number of cities and counties to start passing their own patchwork of regulations.

Government

Why are drug possession laws are so contentious in Washington state?

Lawmakers are gathering in Olympia today for the start of a special legislative session. There’s only one thing on the agenda: A new drug possession law.

Health

The backlash over Seattle's plan to reward drug users for staying clean

Darryl Lee shifts in his seat and stares down at his lap as he unearths some distant memories of childhood. This isn’t nostalgia. His dad was a “chronic alcoholic,” and “abusive.” To escape, his mom moved the family to Seattle from Dallas. Eventually, Lee fell in with the wrong crowd, he said. “I got addicted to drugs and started going to jail and started being a criminal, and it just snowballed after that,” he said.