Home Political News Bill Heading to WA Governor’s Desk to Make Drug Possession a Misdemeanor

Bill Heading to WA Governor’s Desk to Make Drug Possession a Misdemeanor

0
Bill Heading to WA Governor’s Desk to Make Drug Possession a Misdemeanor

Washington State’s legislative session ended this weekend. Before the end of the session, lawmakers approved a bill that will be valid for the next two years. It will make drug possession a misdemeanor. Then after two years, the criminal penalties will be null and void.

The bill is more of a temporary response to the state Supreme Court decision in February. The decision declared Washington’s felony drug possession law as unconstitutional. Thus, ending the prohibition of simple possession.

Some progressive lawmakers viewed the ruling as an opportunity to withdraw from the war on drugs. While moderates and conservatives insist that they should reinstate criminal penalties in order to incentivize people to commit to treatment.

In pursuit of a compromise, the bill’s criminal penalty provision will expire on July 1, 2023, forcing lawmakers back to the negotiating table. This will leave Washington without a law against drug possession again. The intention is to give lawmakers time to create a more permanent replacement for the bill or to just surrender the issue to local jurisdictions.

Until then, the state will create and assemble an advisory committee to develop recommendations to ensure that people with substance use disorder receive the care they need.

The Amended Bill

The House of Representatives passed an amended version of SB 5476 on Saturday in an 80-18 floor vote. Later the Senate accepted the House-amended version and voted 26-23 to send the final bill to the governor’s desk. It will make drug possession a misdemeanor.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Manka Dhingra (D), said that the bill wasn’t ideal, but it is a thoughtful step forward. Senator Dhingra talked about three goals that the bill achieves. First, it establishes a statewide approach to dealing with possession charges. Second, it makes treatment a priority and provides funding. And third, it provides lawmakers with the time to come up with a public health approach to substance use disorder that will pull from best practices, and treatment/ access to treatment that will consider equity.

In the bill, the penalty for drug possession is a simple misdemeanor. This charge carries up to 90 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000. But most people are not expected to see criminal charges for their first few offenses. SB 5476 requires law enforcement to recommend people to a behavioral health assessment for their first two violations. There is also still further diversion available after that.

Funding Treatment Services

An amendment was passed to fund the expanded outreach, treatment, and recovery services. It will set aside almost $100 million in funding; this includes earmarking $45 million to establish a “recovery navigator” program. The program will provide community-based treatment and long-term case management for people in need.

The amendment will also allocate $12.5 million to establish an outreach program for unhoused people, $5 million to expand efforts to provide opioid use disorder medication in jails, and $4.5 million to expand the state’s therapeutic court model to local courts. As they will have jurisdiction over most misdemeanor cases.

More Amendments to SB 5476

Another amendment from the House came from Rep. Lauren Davis (D). Her change goes into the specifics of the state’s substance use recovery advisory committee. This committee will include elected officials, substance use disorder experts, treatment and recovery providers, law enforcement, an antiracism expert, a tribal representative, and people living with substance use disorders. The group will be required to submit a preliminary report by the end of the year.

An amendment from Rep. Roger Goodman (D) produced a number of changes. Law enforcement-not prosecutors- will be required to refer people to treatment. This change will prevent most people caught with drugs from being booked into jail or being charged.

A notable change in Goodman’s amendment made modifications to the bill’s expiration provisions. An older version of the bill would have replaced the misdemeanor penalty in 2023 automatically with a Class 2 civil infraction. Now the misdemeanor penalty will simply dissolve.

Goals for the Future

Goodman believes that dissolving the misdemeanor penalty will encourage lawmakers to revisit the issue and work to craft a more durable policy. He is betting that after skeptics of reform begin to hear back from the new advisory committee, they will be more willing to accept a treatment-focused approach to reform.

Goodman suspects that in about two years from now the conversation on the failure of the drug war will mature further becoming more progressive. “The voters and the legislators and the public will be moving that direction. We have to go slow and steady, unfortunately,” he said.

A poll commissioned by reform advocates and released earlier in April found Washington’s voters generally support decriminalization. 59 percent of people surveyed said lawmakers should use the State vs. Blake decision to replace past drug possession laws with more effective addiction and treatment options. Only 35 percent favored making a technical change to return to the past system. Almost 73 percent said that the approach to drug use has been a failure. While nine percent called it a success.

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news