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The Spokesman-Review
Officials grapple with state’s drug possession law
Shawn Vestal: As lawmakers look to fix drug law, wide range of priorities collides
DEAR COUNCIL: WE NEED YOU NOW, MORE THAN EVER
KHQ
KXLY
The Spokesman-Review
Officials grapple with state’s drug possession law
Legislature expected to take up issue during next session
By Garrett Cabeza
THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Should drug possession in Washington be a felony? Or should the crime be treated less seriously by making it a misdemeanor while funneling adequate funds to drug recovery efforts?
Answers were offered this week in Spokane during a meeting of local police, lawmakers and drug treatment workers.
The discussion is expected to be one of many across Washington before the Legislature convenes in January. “Creating a new and permanent law related to drug possession will be one of the most significant issues we consider in the 2023 legislative session,” said Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane.
Last year, the Washington Supreme Court ruled the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional and invalidated past felony sentences for simple drug possession.
In response to that decision in the State v. Blake case, state lawmakers made drug possession a misdemeanor but required individuals to be offered treatment services on their first and second offense. Criminal charges could be filed on their third drug possession offense, said Billig, who hosted Wednesday’s panel in front of an audience that included Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward, Spokane City Council members and other public officials.
Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl and state Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, advocated for making drug possession a felony – at least in some cases.
Meidl said property crimes and commercial robberies have increased and many of those crimes are a result of people stealing to pay for their drug habit.
“I’m worried about those who have addiction issues,” Meidl said. “I’m worried more about the victims and the number of victims that are created as they support their drug habit.”
He said drug users are seen walking down the middle of Spokane streets, using the sidewalks as bathrooms and even injecting drugs in broad daylight outside of businesses.
“A lot of this is related to drug issues,” he said.
Meidl said many drug users need an incentive to overcome their addiction.
“So, at some level we do have to be serious about providing that incentive, even if that means you have a felony,” Meidl said. “We want you to get treatment. If you get treatment, all these criminal charges related to your drug use will go away as well, but there has to be that incentive.”
Volz said the state needs to continue to support drug courts, which have a “tremendous benefit,” but that a heavier penalty for drug possession is needed.
“I do think there needs to be some compulsion under law for a felony on certain cases, certain instances or certain levels of crime,” he said.
The Legislature, also in response to Blake, appropriated $88.5 million for behavioral health treatment, including community-based treatment and homeless outreach, and expanded therapeutic courts to municipal and district courts where misdemeanors are handled, Billig said.
“Hopefully, whatever happens with the Blake decision work in the Legislature, we can continue to receive support from this community and from the state to continue these therapeutic courts so folks that are in the criminal justice system can be moved out of that system and be successful in our community,” Spokane County Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke III said.
State Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, said the Legislature needs to support peer-to-peer support services and housing for recovering addicts. “Housing is critical,” he said.
Dan Sigler, regional director at Pioneer Human Services in Spokane, said state lawmakers need to invest in community-based treatment and the recovery environment, including housing like Riccelli suggested.
“That’s often one of the biggest missing pieces,” Sigler said.
Francis Adewale, public defender for the city of Spokane, recalled an instance in which a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder completed treatment but did not have a house, so he returned to the streets.
“In this community, we have to connect completion of treatment with housing,” Adewale said.
Sigler said the state often focuses funding on new treatment programs and facilities but not enough money to staff them. Sigler said he wanted the state to guarantee enough training and adequate pay for mental health professionals, substance abuse counselors and others who provide services.
He asked that the Legislature not “overcriminalize” drug possession, saying felony charges can hinder people’s ability to obtain housing and employment.
“That criminal record can be its own self-perpetuating issue,” Sigler said.
Adewale agreed. “The consequences of having a felony conviction on your history is too much,” Adewale said.
He said making drug possession a misdemeanor offense makes it easier for the offender to finish treatment, get a job and get a house.
“If we are not going to decriminalize drug offenses, then please, my god, make it a misdemeanor offense,” Adewale said.
Meanwhile, he said the treatment options officers provide people on their first and second offenses does not work because human connection is missing.
Clarke appeared to agree. “You’re going to impact people on a public health issue when you have a relationship with them,” Clarke said. “It’s all about relationship building with that person to help them move in a different direction. You can’t just walk up to someone and say, ‘I think you need to go to treatment today.’ That’s generally not going to work.”
Riccelli, Volz and Billig said they expect the Legislature’s solution to be a bipartisan effort.
“Whatever the solution, I think it’s important that we also have funding for treatment, diversion and other services if we want the solution to be successful,” Billig said.
Shawn Vestal: As lawmakers look to fix drug law, wide range of priorities collides
As state lawmakers go back to work on the state’s drug-possession law, there will be a philosophical tug-of-war: Do we need a bigger legal hammer or more robust addiction treatment?
Will we frame drug use chiefly as a crime or a health problem?
Local lawmakers at a public forum this week expressed optimism that comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to address both the criminal justice and the addiction recovery ends of the spectrum will be within reach when they return to Olympia this winter.
But it won’t be possible to eliminate the core, conflicting views of how we should treat simple drug possession, and perhaps the most significant either-or will be whether to keep it a misdemeanor or bring back a felony possession charge – if not for initial offenses, then perhaps for later ones.
The misdemeanor-felony divide was on view at the forum Wednesday night at the downtown library, focused on the need for the Legislature to follow up on the Washington Supreme Court’s 2021 Blake decision.
In that case – which originated in Spokane – the justices invalidated the state’s drug possession law because it unconstitutionally penalized people who might unknowingly possess drugs. The Legislature rushed to pass a quick Blake fix last session, but it left no one happy.
The replacement law did not simply fix the “unknowingly” gap – it made drug possession a misdemeanor, rather than the Class C felony it had been, and it required police to direct offenders to treatment on the first and second offenses.It was a significant step away from the hammer approach, to put it mildly.
Sen. Andy Billig, the Spokane Democrat, organized the discussion, which included Police Chief Craig Meidl, Superior Court Judge Harold Clarke, Public Defender Francis Adewale and Dan Sigler, regional director of Pioneer Human Services. Reps. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, and Mike Volz, R-Spokane, were also on the panel.
Meidl offered a range of statistics about crime increases and overdose deaths in the past year, and said that drug use is driving increases in property crimes as well as the kinds of “crimes of disorder” that are often mentioned in discussions of homelessness – people being accosted on the streets by drug users, open drug use on the sidewalks, an instance of someone “pulling down their drawers in the middle of the street” in front of families.
He said he believed a felony charge should be returned to the statute as a consequence to encourage change, if not for initial offenses then for repeat charges.
A push to recriminalize drug possession runs strongly among many of those who see the best answer to homelessness as a jail cell. But the insufficiency of this response is deep and thorough, and if you view the current increase in certain crimes in Spokane as only the result of the Blake changes, then it’s hard to explain why current crime reports are lower than they were in 2017 and 2018.
As a practical matter, the scourge of addiction, especially given the intensely addictive and dangerous nature of the synthetic opioid crisis, requires a broader, more sophisticated response than a criminal charge, as several panelists laid outwith great clarity.
“This is a public health issue and we need to take that approach,” said Clarke, who presides over Spokane County’s felony mental health court.
Adelwalde, the public defender who is a mainstay in Spokane’s community court, argued for a compassionate response for those addicted to drugs, and for improving our system for helping them recover – not for excessively criminalizing a health problem in ways that make it harder for people to get sober and find work and housing.
“What I don’t see is going back to felonizing these drug offenses,” he said. “It’stoo much.”
In the absence of other crimes, he said, hanging a felony around the neck of someone with a substance abuse disorder – only for drug possession – makes it less likely they will recover.
“Let’s see the humanity in each other,” he said. “I don’t have any sympathy for drug dealers or drug manufacturers. I don’t care about them. But for drug users? Let’s look at them from the point of view of humanity. … Let’s look at this as a disease we need to cure.”
Other panelists talked about the lack of treatment resources and counselors, especially if a new law puts a premium on systems that direct people charged with drug possession toward treatment and recovery.
After all, as Clarke noted, almost everyone who goes to jail or prison is released at some point. And as Sigler said, most people who are addicted to drugs eventually get healthy – but it’s common to relapse along that road.
“Recovery takes time and people are going to relapse,” he said. “That needs to inform what we support.”
For these reasons, and others, targeting the system toward helping people get – and stay – sober, is important, including eliminating gaps in services where people might backslide.
Adelwade said we think of treatment as a “magic wand.”
“But if you finish treatment and go back on the street, your chances of success are reduced,” he said.
The degree to which the Blake fix will address all of these priorities remains to be seen. The sausage must still be made, and lawmakers are sure to get an earful from folks who want more hammer. But the panelists, taken together, made it clear that it isn’t a one-tool job. Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 4595431 or at shawnv@spokesman.com.
SHAWN VESTAL
SPOKESMAN COLUMNIST
DEAR COUNCIL: WE NEED YOU NOW, MORE THAN EVER
By Cynthia Carroll
Twenty-five years ago, when deciding where to open my business, The Antiquarian, there was no doubt in my mind that downtown was the right choice. For years I loved downtown: the beauty, the character, the historic buildings, the park. Downtown was once the heart of our city.
I have been proud to own and operate a business in a city that I love. But today, that has all changed. It’s time for action. We must get a grasp on what is happening downtown before it is too late.
Over the last two years, it has been heartbreaking to see what so many people have gone through. But having downtown streets littered with needles, garbage, and even human excrement is unsafe and wrong. We need to be good neighbors, providing services for those in our community that need them most. Our unhoused neighbors need services and housing, but the city’s failure to keep our streets safe is harming them too. Sitting, lying and camping on sidewalks is not safe. It’s not safe for the visitor coming to our city to see what makes Spokane so special. It’s not safe for the business owner trying to keep up their livelihood. And it’s not safe for those who are unhoused.
When city leaders stopped enforcing sit, lie and camping in downtown, 80% of my business was lost and I incurred tens of thousands of dollars of damage to my building. And I know my story is one of so many. I’ve been in downtown Spokane for decades, and it’s to the point that I feel broken by the city that I love. I’m heartbroken to see my city slipping away. Without enforcing policies like the sit-lie ordinance and adopting updates to the camping ordinance, the city where I once felt safe and secure will be forever changed.
When the pandemic began, I, like many small business owners, wasn’t sure if my business would survive. It took a lot of hard work, commitment and support from community members to keep us afloat during one of the most challenging and uncertain times in history. Locally owned businesses like mine are critical to the fabric of downtown and our customers and visitors to our city deserve to feel safe and welcome when they come here.
So many cities around the country, one in our very own state, have devolved to the point where business owners are leaving and with their departure significantly affecting the economic health on those communities. Without businesses and the revenues they generate, residents have to pay higher taxes for city services.
To our leaders in Spokane: You were chosen by our citizens to lead our city. You were chosen for your vision of how great our city could be. But with power comes great responsibility. If you do not re-establish order on our streets, I don’t know if we will survive going forward. Cynthia Carroll has lived in Spokane for 45 years.
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KHQ
From the City of Spokane:
SPOKANE, Wash. - The City of Spokane is hosting a job fair to connect job seekers with disabilities to employers. The Supported Employment Job Fair is Thursday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Spokane City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Boulevard. If you are a job seeker with a disability and would like to participate, register now!
Job seekers will participate in interviews with eight to ten local businesses. Remember to dress to impress and have a digital copy of your resume ready. Registered businesses include STCU and Amazon, with more to come!
The City’s Civil Service Department is actively recruiting Supported Employment applicants Thursday, Sept. 29 – Friday, Dec. 2. If you are interested in a City position, bring your resume, Proof of Eligibility Sample Letter, and Certification of Job Readiness to the Thursday, Sept. 29, Supported Employment Job Fair!
Together, we are offering job seekers with disabilities an opportunity to interview and connect with city leaders, local business professionals, hiring managers, recruiters, and HR managers. If your business is interested in participating, email Charly Walters.
The City of Spokane launched a Supported Employment Program in 2019. The program is designed to create job opportunities for eligible individuals with disabilities. If you would like to learn more, visit our website.
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KXLY
September 15, 2022 6:51 PM
Updated: September 16, 2022 5:04 AM
SPOKANE, Wash. — On Wednesday, Camp Hope residents told 4 News that they are enduring claims of violence and challenging living conditions, in the hopes of being awarded a pallet home in the near future.
“There’s supposed to be little tiny homes that we’re supposed to get,” said one resident who wished to remain anonymous. She told 4 News that if they left the encampment, they would no longer qualify to receive one.
Rather than leave the encampment many of the 650+ homeless living there are bearing down, hopeful that this housing solution will come to fruition.
“There’s a lot of good to that,” said Timothy Morgan, who works security at the camp. “But there’s also people being held back because of that promise and the ability to be able to get it. They feel like if they leave the situation they’ll miss out on that.”
Unfortunately, there are no plans to develop a pallet community in Spokane, at least not at this time.
“The city of Spokane is not associated with any pallet home concepts,” said Brian Coddington, communications director for the city of Spokane.
The concept for a pallet home village was submitted to the Department of Commerce over the summer. The proposal was reviewed by Commerce, but ultimately not approved.
“And it was a recommendation that was not universally agreed upon and supported concept,” said Coddington.
Coddington says only two proposals have been approved and formally accepted by Commerce to address homelessness.
The first is an assessment process, run by Empire Health Foundation.
“That would be a process of meeting individually with people at the [Camp Hope] property,” explained Coddington. “Getting to know their situation and their need.”
Those assessments would then be considered. They would work to match the needs of those living at the encampment with the appropriate housing solution.
“That’s a process that will take a period of weeks to be able to complete. There’s a few hundred individuals that need to be assessed and evaluated for the next steps in their journey, and that process is one that doesn’t happen overnight.”
The second proposal was to convert the Quality Inn Motel on Sunset Blvd. into a long-term housing solution for those living at Camp Hope.
That proposal has since been met with a lawsuit by residents that live near the motel.