Washington is making national headlines for drug legalization fiasco

Gov. Jay Inslee and bickering House Democrats refused to take action on drugs for the last two years – setting the state for all drugs to become legal on July 1. That even includes the most dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin.  

While Jay Inslee has called a special session to begin on May 16 to tackle the issue of drugs in Washington, the legislators have no plan on the table, which leaves Washingtonians wondering – what exactly are legislators coming together to consider?

Meanwhile, Washington’s mess is making national headlines. The Wall Street Journal recently ran the article Washington State, Fentanyl Haven, which began:

“Want to live in a state where heroin and meth are legal? Your mecca may arrive on July 1 when Washington state will legalize all drugs if Democrats can’t find a policy compromise.” 

The article also laid out some cold, hard facts:

“If Washington wants to know how this will go, they can look next door at Oregon, which decriminalized hard drugs, including cocaine, heroin and meth with a ballot initiative in 2020. Proponents said this would redirect state money to treatment programs. By 2022 the Associated Press reported that fatal overdoses had increased by 20% and few drug users were seeking treatment.

“Washington already has a drug problem. The 2022 Overdose Death Report in Seattle and King County notes that overdose deaths in King County have grown on an “exponential scale,” driven by fentanyl. Deaths were up 20% in 2020 and another 39% in 2021. By October 2022, the area had 710 overdose deaths, already more than the previous year.”

If our legislators led by majority Democrats and the Governor can’t work together to take action on drugs, the consequences will be severe. Read the entire piece in the Wall Street Journal.