Seattle City Council narrowly shoots down bill to prosecute drug possession

SEATTLE - The Seattle City Council rejected a bill that would have allowed the city attorney to prosecute those who openly use and possess illegal drugs.

The bill just narrowly failed at a 5–4 vote.

Dozens of people with signs filled City Council Chambers for the meeting; most of them against the idea of allowing the city attorney’s office to prosecute public drug use and drug possession. The meeting began with very passionate public comment from nearly 80 people.

"This is not a deterrent for drug use. This is not the right thing to do," said one Ballard resident.

"Prosecution is ineffective at reducing drug use and causes severe harm to our community, in particular people of color in our community," said a representative of the King County Department of Public Defense.

"We know that voting ‘yes’ on this would just impact Black and brown people more, most of all," said a representative of Voices of Community Activists and Leaders – Washington.

City Attorney Ann Davison proposed the legislation, CB 120586, to city council. It would update city code to classify public drug possession and drug use as gross misdemeanors. Approving the proposal would align with the state’s new law, declared during a special legislative session in May 2023. This would allow the city attorney’s office to prosecute charges.

"It’s the only thing that we are obligated to do—conform to state law, that is what has been passed and we need to intervene with people so we can save them," said Davison. "We don’t need to make this complicated. It should be the same everywhere throughout our state. Which is why it was handled at the state level."

Councilmember Sara Nelson has supported adopting the legislation in Seattle. Nelson first vocalized support during a news conference in May when Davison announced the proposal. 

"People are dying every day. Let’s not lose sight of that, let’s not lose sight of that fact," said Nelson.

Though councilmembers agreed addressing the fentanyl and opioid crisis is priority, not everyone believed the legislation was the answer. Councilmember Tammy Morales said the proposal targets, "unhoused people who have substance use disorders with incarceration and fines instead of treatment."

"I want it to be abundantly clear that this legislation will have deadly consequences. While this legislation is moving forward without being studied, we have more than 50 years of data that demonstrates how the War on Drugs is a failure and that imprisoning people for substance use disorder doesn’t just destroy lives, it makes people 40 times more likely to die of an opioid overdose when, and if, they get out," said Morales.

Almost every public commenter against the proposal stated it lacked any plan for treatment and diversion programs for those dealing with substance use disorder.

"Recovery does not mean incarceration, it means equitable treatment and access to care," said the representative of Voices of Community Activists and Leaders – Washington.

In a June 5 letter to City Council, Davison wrote, "the principal goal of this legislation is to get people using drugs into treatment programs. I pledge to work with diversion and treatment providers, along with the Seattle Police Department and Mayor’s Office, to ensure a robust continuum of options meant to balance individual health needs with the health and safety of the Seattle public."

Public Health – Seattle & King County said downtown and central Seattle are seeing the highest rates of fentanyl related overdoses in the county.

King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion issued a statement after the bill died, saying in part, "There is an incorrect notion that misdemeanor drug possession or public use cases falling within Seattle city limits can simply be referred to King County to handle as contracted services. State law may technically allow for a municipality to enter into a contract for prosecution services, but the contract would need to be negotiated and agreed upon. The PAO does not have the funding or the staff necessary to take on a new body of misdemeanor cases… To me, it does not make sense to have Seattle’s misdemeanor work split between the Seattle City Attorney’s Office and PAO. This approach would be cumbersome, impractical, and cause significant confusion. There also is the question of whether Seattle Police have jurisdiction to investigate these types of crimes without a Seattle ordinance mirroring state law."

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Seattle City Attorney hopes to prosecute public drug use and possession cases

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The Downtown Seattle Association said the crisis is "worsening by the day." In a written statement, the association said: 

"At a critical time for the recovery of downtown, the use of dangerous drugs in our public spaces is a significant contributing factor to residents, employees, families and visitors feeling unsafe exploring our city or returning to the office. In fact, in a poll we commissioned late last month, the full results of which will be released later this week, a full 77% of voters agreed with the statement "Seattle’s hands-off approach to people using illegal drugs in public is contributing to rampant street crime and is making it much harder for downtown to recover", 63% of those strongly agreed."

Downtown neighborhoods like Pioneer Square continue dealing with the effects of drugs and homelessness. The Alliance for Pioneer Square wants to the city attorney’s proposal to pass.

"The Alliance for Pioneer Square is solidly in support of this legislation. Not just in Pioneer Square, the scale of the drug crisis in the streets of Seattle has become so tragic that we must take action wherever possible. We see this proposal as a way to align with a statewide effort to sensibly balance public health and public safety concerns. The Alliance remains committed to working with city leadership, as well as with community outreach teams and local law enforcement – with a common goal of ensuring our public spaces, Waterfront, and vibrant communities are safe and welcoming for all," wrote Lisa Howard, executive director of the Alliance for Pioneer Square.