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(The Center Square) – Cities throughout King County are seeking their own solutions to a potential lack of illicit drug possession laws in Washington state after the failure of Senate Bill 5536.
Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus said she has begun talks with neighboring King County and Pierce County cities to enforce laws that have similar approaches. A common theme amongst King County cities is that they are prioritizing a treatment-forward approach to violators. However, that has a higher price tag.
“[Treatment] is more expensive for us, but what value are you ultimately going to put on the lives of individuals,” Backus said in a phone call to The Center Square.
The City of Auburn recently used approximately $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to start a pilot program that pays for clean and sober housing for up to two years.
Just north of Auburn, the City of Kent is scrambling to pass an ordinance that enforces laws against drug possession. Kent Mayor Dana Ralph announced in a letter that she will propose an ordinance that would give violators the opportunity for an offense to be removed from their record and not serve jail time if they engage in treatment options. Ralph added that incarceration would only be utilized when a person chooses not to participate in a treatment program.
“We will leverage our court, which is designed to provide the incentives needed, to encourage those suffering from addiction to get into treatment and support a life of sobriety,” Ralph said in a letter.
Backus added that if cities pass their own ordinances with a treatment-forward approach, they will have to start looking at their own budgets to find funding. Cities would also apply for grant-funding at the state and federal level.
“There’s going to be a lot of competition for the funds to provide that treatment-forward approach,” said Backus.
Both Backus and Ralph want enforcement on drug possession to be classified as a gross misdemeanor. The failed Senate bill would have classified drug possession as a gross misdemeanor rather than a misdemeanor and increase the maximum jail sentence to 364 days in jail, $5,000 in fines, or both.
Notably, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison proposed legislation that would make public consumption of controlled substances a misdemeanor, rather than a gross misdemeanor. The legislation would give the city the ability to prosecute public drug use or divert those cases for treatment in what she deems “appropriate circumstances.”
According to Davison’s office, more than half of King County overdose reports in 2022 happened in Seattle, predominantly in the downtown core.
This article First appeared in the center square
