Could WA be the next state to decriminalize drugs? Voters might get to decide in November
An organization in Washington has introduced a proposed ballot initiative to decriminalize simple drug possession and announced in a press release Monday that they are beginning to gather signatures.
The Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Recovery Act will need at least 324,516 valid signatures by July 8 to appear on the November ballot.
The proposed initiative would use cannabis revenue to fund prevention, treatment and recovery services. The measure also would help those who have simple possession charges on their records to be able to clear those convictions.
“We know that the status quo isn’t working — we see it in our big cities and rural communities,” said Carmen Pacheco-Jones, a committee member for Commit to Change WA, the organization behind the measure. “We see in its patterns of arrest where Black and Indigenous Washingtonians are disproportionately arrested for simple possession charges.”
Pacheco-Jones said the measure offers a real solution to break “deadly cycles,” and does not decriminalize anything beyond simple drug possession, so drug dealing and property crimes would still be criminal, she said.
“But for the individuals struggling with substance use disorder, trauma, and behavioral health issues, we have a different equitable and more effective approach,” she said. “When we expand treatment and recovery, we will also reduce the demand for illegal drugs. When we stop arresting people for simple possession, we give them the opportunity to restore their lives.”
Commit to Change WA held a press conference last week where they showed reporters results from recent polling on the proposed measure. The polling conducted by FM3 Research indicated that 73 percent thought drug use and drug dependency were very serious problems in the state, and 70 percent were concerned about drug overdoses. Homelessness and housing costs also ranked high on the list.
Out of those polled, 73 percent said they saw the state’s methods of handling drug use as a complete failure.
The polling results also showed that 53 percent of Washington voters were supportive of the measure when using the exact language of the initiative that would appear on the November ballot:
“Initiative Measure No. 1922 concerns drug use treatment and penalties, and related funding. This measure would fund substance use disorder prevention, outreach, recovery, training, study, and public education; decriminalize drug possession but allow seizure and forfeiture; authorize vacation of certain drug-related convictions; and amend related laws.”
Everett Maroon from Commit to Change WA spoke to McClatchy on Friday and said he believes there are ways to get people more on board with the idea of decriminalization.
The idea that if the state decriminalized drugs then everyone will use them — which Maroon referred to as “The Enabling Hypothesis” — has simply not been seen in other areas where drugs have been decriminalized, he said. What actually happens, he said, is that more people end up in recovery and treatment because they’re not stuck in the criminal justice system. Arrests are the barrier to people progressing, he added.
If the hesitation is about the morality of it, Maroon said he has an easy answer for that: “We’re trying to save lives, and that’s what this measure is going to help us do,” he said.
Oregon is the only state in the U.S. that has so far decriminalized possession of small amounts of “hard” drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and LSD. The state passed a similar measure that appeared on their ballot in November 2020.
While Portugal is not the first country to decriminalize drugs, Oregon’s measure was modeled after the country’s successful decriminalization efforts.
Decriminalization in Portugal resulted in fewer deaths associated with drugs in the first five years after the law was passed. Though the rates have recently risen, they are still lower than they were before decriminalization of drugs.
Several other countries have other variations of decriminalization including Mexico, Estonia and Uruguay.
An effort to allow the use of psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutical treatment also was introduced during the Washington legislative session earlier this year, but failed to pass.
This story was originally published May 2, 2022 at 1:52 PM.
