drug laws Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington leaders call new drug law ‘imperfect’ solution to overdose crisis

By Northwest News Network May 18, 2023

Washington lawmakers passed a new drug possession and addiction treatment policy during a one-day special legislative session Tuesday

Washington is getting a new drug possession and addiction treatment law, after the state legislature approved a final deal during its one-day special session Tuesday. But many lawmakers call it a hard compromise that represents just one step toward tackling the state's drug crisis.Read More

Washington Supreme Court Legalized Drug Possession. Now State Lawmakers Are Scrambling

By NWPB News March 29, 2021

Washington State’s Supreme Court Building, also known as the Temple of Justice, photographed on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Olympia, Wash. CREDIT: Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut

Lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to respond to a Washington Supreme Court decision that declared the state’s law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent.Read More

How Washington Supreme Court’s Drug Ruling Upends State’s Criminal Justice System

By NWPB News March 14, 2021

Washington State Supreme Court building in Olympia. CREDIT: TONY OVERMAN

For advocates of drug policy reform and those in the world of criminal defense, the ruling “was a much-needed nail in the coffin on the war on drugs,” said Ali Hohman, director of legal services at the Washington Defender Association. Meanwhile, many prosecutors, law enforcement officials and lawmakers are nervous about its implications.Read More

U.S. House Approves Decriminalizing Marijuana; Bill To Stall In GOP-Controlled Senate

By NPR News December 4, 2020

Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon has been pushing for federal decriminalization laws for years and argued Americans already showed support by voting to legalize cannabis in states across the country. CREDIT: House Television via AP

The legislation removes cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and expunges low-level convictions and arrests. But the GOP Senate is not expected to take up the bill.Read More

From Marijuana To Mushrooms, Voters Want Drug Laws Eased, Following Washington State’s Lead

By NPR News November 5, 2020

A Washington, D.C., resident has an operation growing psilocybin mushrooms. With the legalization of marijuana, advocates in several states, including Oregon, have pushed for the legalization of other drugs such as "magic mushrooms." Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Several states approve marijuana for recreational and medicinal use. Oregon votes to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs.Read More