Washington state to decriminalize drugs unless lawmakers act
A volunteer cleans up needles used for drug injection that were found at a homeless encampment in Everett, Wash., Nov. 8, 2017. A temporary law that makes possession of small amounts of drugs a misdemeanor expires on July 1, so if lawmakers fail to pass a bill, Washington would become the second state — after neighboring Oregon — to decriminalize drug possession. Lawmakers said Tuesday, May 2, 2023, they were increasingly optimistic a compromise will be reached to avoid those consequences. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is calling lawmakers back to work after they rejected a bill setting out a new statewide drug policy — a development that has put the state on the brink of decriminalizing possession of fentanyl and other drugs while also depriving it of much-needed investments in public health...
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