For the second time in two months, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison and Seattle City Councilmembers Alex Pedersen and Sara Nelson are proposing to adopt the state legislature’s new law criminalizing simple drug possession and public drug use. This “new” bill is identical to the one that failed less than 75 days ago. Except for a brief time when Seattle criminalized marijuana possession, the city of Seattle has never prosecuted drug possession or public use. Rather than effectively address the overdose crisis, this new city bill would increase prosecutions for drug possession, increase the jail population, increase overdoses and overdose deaths, and greatly worsen racial disparities in all of the above.
We have over fifty years of evidence that arrest and incarceration are ineffective and harmful when it comes to addressing drug use. Tell Seattle City Council to vote NO on returning us to a failed war on drugs!
Today’s action: Give public comment Tuesday 9/12
Public comment period begins on Tuesday 9/12 at 9:30 am. Remote sign-up opens at 7:30 am. You can sign up anytime until the meeting starts at 9:30 am. OR: Show up to City Hall (600 4th Ave) in person. In-person sign up opens at 9:15 am.
Sign up to speak remotely: http://www.seattle.gov/council/committees/public-comment
Pro Tips:
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Keep in mind you will only have 1-2 minutes for public comment – so pick a few points that resonate with you AND feel free to send a full length email with all of your thoughts to Council members.
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Arrive early if possible to sign-up for in-person public comment, and know that comments may be cut down to 1 minute to get more people in.
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If you can’t make it to public comment, or if your name is called after you have to leave the meeting, be sure to email your comments to the Council. An email address and sample email are below.
Bonus action: Contact your Council Members today
Email: [email protected]
Sample script:
Dear Seattle Council members,
My name is [Name], and I am a constituent of Seattle council district [DISTRICT]. I’m writing to ask you to again reject the proposed legislation that would expand the City’s criminal code to prosecute drug possession and public drug use.
We have decades of evidence that incarceration does not prevent overdoses nor give people the help they need. City adoption of this law would increase overdoses, deaths, and racial disparities in arrests, jail time, and overdoses. This proposed bill will bring us back to regressive and racist war-on-drugs policies instead of moving toward evidence-based, effective and more compassionate approaches.
Do not take us back 50 years to a failed war on drugs.
Sincerely,
[Your name and district]
Background
Info on proposed legislation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ulY0aMPFfsYIFRCKXdivgitACnFGTpJW/edit
King County Heroin and Opioid Task Force recommendations: https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/elected/executive/constantine/news/release/2016/September/15-heroin-opioid-task-force-report.aspx
“Seattle Democrats Mulling Drug Law Siccing Republican City Attorney on the Poor”: https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/06/02/seattle-democrats-mulling-drug-law-siccing-republican-city-attorney-on-the-poor
