(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council is set to vote to send a second attempt at a “Blake Fix” to the Seattle Public Safety and Human Services Committee for a formal review in order to expedite a new drug possession policy.
The legislation, Council Bill 120645, would make the use or possession of controlled substances in a public place a gross misdemeanor within the City of Seattle. This matches with the recently passed bill from the Washington State Legislature, which makes the use or possession of controlled substances in a public place a gross misdemeanor.
The proposed bill would clarify that jail diversion is the preferred approach when enforcing public use and possession offenses. According to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, Seattle police officers are “expected to offer diversion services,” when approaching a suspect possessing drugs in public.
On June 6, the Seattle City Council voted 5-4 to refuse the originally proposed Blake fix, Council Bill 120586.
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce CEO Rachel Smith urged the city to adopt the proposed legislation in light of a worsening opioid crisis. She noted the failed attempt to pass legislation regarding drug possession, saying “let’s hope the discussion during round two is grounded in a shared vision to help those in need and enforcement of our laws.”
“There are a lot of promising efforts underway in Seattle to get people the help they need and keep people safe: standing up a third-response force, recruiting and hiring officers, and implementing the mayor’s executive order on fentanyl,” Smith said in a statement. “They all need to get done urgently, starting with the city council voting to approve the Blake fix – now is the time for action.”
The Seattle Police Department is currently working on a policy surrounding the enforcement of the proposed Council Bill 120645. Harrell’s office said it expects the policy to be finished by mid September.
On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council will vote on sending the legislation to the Seattle Public Safety and Human Services Committee for a formal review.
During a special legislative session earlier this year, Washington state lawmakers did what they couldn’t do during the 105-day regular legislative session: pass a permanent fix to the state Supreme Court’s Blake decision on drug laws, less than two months before a stopgap measure keeping the possession of small amounts of drugs outlawed was set to expire.
The case involved Shannon Blake of Spokane, who had received a pair of jeans from a friend. A small bag of methamphetamine was in the pocket of the jeans. The high court ruled the statute unconstitutional because it allowed people to be convicted of possession even when they didn’t realize they had drugs in their possession.
