In June, the Seattle City Council rejected a proposal that would have criminalized drug use and possession in the city’s code and authorized the City Attorney to file criminal cases in municipal court. It was the right call. Community members criticized the proposal as a continuation of the failed policies of the racist War on Drugs, relying on criminalization to address a profound public health crisis plaguing our state.
Our Washington Legislature took a step backwards this spring in the fight against substance use disorder and opioid overdoses by establishing harsher criminal penalties for drug possession. In Seattle, we have the chance to do better.
Drug policy reform must begin with acknowledging the harms caused by decades of utterly failed drug policies at the national, state and local levels. The criminalization of drug use has always been horrifically racist in terms of how it was created and enforced, from opium laws targeting Chinese immigrants during the 1860s, to the demonization of cannabis from Mexico, to the devastating criminal legal response to cocaine in Black neighborhoods during the 1980s. The criminalization of simple drug possession has perpetuated racial disparities in the criminal legal system and failed to prevent either the arrival of fentanyl or the current overdose crisis.
This is, at its core, a public health problem. Seattleites are having to bear witness to distressing behavior and community collapse, because our behavioral health systems have been starved of resources for decades and are racing to catch up to the heightened need and current science with too little fuel in the tank. In 2021, the United States recorded over 100,000 overdose deaths, with more than 2,000 in Washington alone. We welcome Mayor Harrell’s proposed investments in treatment facilities, services and diversion programs. Too many people are dying in Washington, especially people of color and the young. These public health investments will help to stabilize and move people toward recovery.
However, we remain deeply concerned about aspects of the proposal that are reminiscent of failed War on Drugs-era policies. Leading with criminal sanctions is, and always has been, rooted in shaming and does little to save lives. Jails are not a legitimate path to recovery. They leave individuals impacted by the criminal legal system with records that present barriers to employment, housing and more. The data and evidence have never supported maintaining criminal penalties as a solution to the public health crisis of substance use disorder.
Yet, the substantive portion of this bill addressing criminalization is essentially identical to the proposal that was rejected in June. It would still empower Seattle’s City Attorney to prosecute people for simple drug possession and for using drugs in public. This approach fails to prevent the deaths of people with substance use disorders, and compounds that struggle by criminalizing and stigmatizing their medical condition.
For true drug policy reform, we must replace policies grounded in racism and punitive policing with evidence-based approaches focused on social determinants of health. We cannot punish people into recovery.
Jazmyn Clark is the Smart Justice Policy Program Director for the ACLU of Washington.
Read more of the Aug. 23-29, 2023 issue.