Senate OKs bill to recriminalize drug possession, divert ...

Senate OKs bill to recriminalize drug

possession, divert early offenders to

treatment

By Sara Gentzler

The News Tribune

April 16, 2021 05:00 AM,

Updated April 17, 2021 07:27 PM

The Washington state Senate approved a bill Thursday that would make drug

possession a gross misdemeanor and require diversion to treatment for a person¡¯s first

two offenses.

The measure comes in response to the state Supreme Court¡¯s so-called Blake decision

in February that made the state¡¯s simple drug possession law unconstitutional.

While the proposal captured enough votes to move over to the House of

Representatives for more consideration, it did not amass broad support and laid bare

disagreements among lawmakers.

A majority of justices on the state Supreme Court found the state¡¯s law was

unconstitutional because it didn¡¯t require prosecutors to prove an accused person

knowingly or intentionally had drugs. The decision, known as State v. Blake, was

released in the middle of the legislative session to immediate, widespread impact.

The 28-20 Senate vote on Thursday reflected the lack of consensus among legislators

in how best to proceed: 14 Democrats voted for it, 14 against. Tim Sheldon, a Mason

County Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, was a yes vote.

The original, struck-down law made possession of controlled substances a class C

felony. The amended bill that passed out of the Senate would take that down to a gross

misdemeanor.

The first two times someone is arrested for possession, the bill would require them to be

diverted to a treatment program. If they¡¯re arrested for possession again, treatment

would be encouraged but not required.

The bill also would allow court commissioners to help resentence people convicted

under the law that was deemed unconstitutional.

Sen. Manka Dhingra, who proposed the original bill, said earlier this week there was not

agreement among lawmakers as to whether drug possession should be a criminal

offense at all, and if it were, whether it should be a felony or gross misdemeanor.

There¡¯s also a sticking point in how people might access treatment, whether it be

through the criminal justice system or otherwise, she said.

Dhingra¡¯s original proposal would¡¯ve banned public use of controlled substances and

possession by minors and allowed law enforcement to refer people with small amounts

of controlled substances toward treatment.

She ultimately did not vote for the version of her bill that passed Thursday, after an

impassioned speech in floor debate. She emphasized the racial impact of the state¡¯s

drug laws and a need for an approach that offers people access to treatment outside of

the criminal justice system.

¡°I have higher expectations for my family, for my children, and for this state,¡± Dhingra

while speaking to her no vote.

What passed was a proposal from Sen. Jamie Pedersen of Seattle ¡ª in the end,

though, he didn¡¯t vote for it either. An amendment from Minority Leader Sen. John

Braun of Centralia, in part, did away with a key expiration date.

The recriminalization in his version of the bill would¡¯ve lasted for two years, Pedersen

explained to McClatchy. Then, the Legislature would¡¯ve looked at a work group¡¯s report

and made decisions around a permanent system. If the Legislature couldn¡¯t agree on

that system, it would¡¯ve defaulted to an idea similar to what was in Dhingra¡¯s bill, with

some amount of drugs remaining legal to possess.

¡°We know that the criminal law approach has not helped, and it has been a failure, and I

don¡¯t think that is or should be the long-term solution,¡± Pedersen told McClatchy after

the vote. ¡°I am hopeful that as the bill continues through the process that it¡¯s going to

change to the point that by the end of session I can vote for it.¡±

Braun gave an impassioned speech as well on Thursday, saying he thought the bill was

in a place that would make communities safer and save lives, detailing a personal story

of a nephew who struggles with substance abuse issues.

¡°I think, even from different political perspectives, you can admit that the war on drugs

has not served us well,¡± he said. ¡°We aren¡¯t getting it right and people are suffering.¡±

Following the Supreme Court¡¯s decision, at least a few jurisdictions immediately started

pursuing local action to recriminalize drug possession. Lawmakers have consistently

voiced that there needs to be state action on the issue this session to avoid a patchwork

of such approaches.

¡°Anybody that¡¯s serious understands this has to be dealt with before we leave,¡± Braun

said this week.

Time is not on their side: The 105-day session is scheduled to adjourn April 25 ¡ª 10

days after the Senate¡¯s vote ¡ª and they have budgets to finalize and other policy

priorities in play.

The bill now moves to the House, where Democrats this week introduced their own

proposal to address the Supreme Court decision.

The Washington state Legislative Building and Tivoli Fountain at dusk. Washington

could become the first state in the country to provide a right to legal representation for

low-income tenants facing eviction in housing court. The Olympian

Sara Gentzler

360-754-5459

Sara Gentzler joined The Olympian in June 2019 as a county and courts reporter. She

now covers Washington state government for The Olympian, The News Tribune, The

Bellingham Herald, and Tri-City Herald. She has a bachelor¡¯s degree in journalism from

Creighton University.

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