WA Initiative Seeks to Legalize 'Personal' Use of Meth, Fentanyl

If you thought the Blake Decision was controversial, get ready for the effort to allow 'personal use' of Fentanyl, heroin, meth, coke, and more.

The Blake Decision was the recent ruling by the WA State Supreme Court that did away with drug possession.

Initiative 1922 would legalize personal deadly drug use

You may not have heard about it yet, but I-1922 supporters are pushing to try to get enough signatures to get it on an upcoming ballot.

I-1922 would remove all legal penalties for personal use of heroin, fentanyl, meth, cocaine, and/or other hard narcotics. It would take marijuana tax dollars and funnel them into drug treatment programs. However, it also mandates that some of the money be used to hand out needles to ensure 'safer injections' for those who use drugs.

Supporters say the War on Drugs not working, but...

According to crime data, the enforcement of first-time arrests for hard drug use has all but disappeared in Washington state's heavily populated metro areas. It usually takes a second such bust to bring about legal action. This has fueled the war on drugs failure rhetoric. Many of the tools used by law enforcement in the fight have been chipped away over the last few years.

Supporters use racial bias

Those who support I-1922 also claim people of color are most affected by drug laws, and putting them in jail is racist. However, jail time, says Jason Rantz of AM 770 KTTH in Seattle, at least allows them to sober up which gives them a greater chance of potentially quitting or realizing they need help.

Oregon's new law not working

Oregon passed a very similar law last year, except theirs does include a $100 civil citation for drug use. Out of about 2,000 such citations, data shows only 19 people actually utilized the drug rehab resource programs they were supposed to use if they got a ticket.

Oregon's overdose death rates have gone up 41 percent since the law went into effect.

Dept of Health recommends people carry Narcan

The drug overdose problem in WA has gotten so bad the DOH says people should carry at least two doses of Narcan (the emergency overdose drug) with them at all times. Now, granted this applies to drug users, those who are around drug users, and anyone else who regularly comes in contact with high-level narcotics.

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But never in our state's history has the DOH made this strong recommendation.

Supporters of I-1922 will have to gather just over 324,000 signatures to get it on the next ballot. Interestingly, the Tacoma News Tribune ran a story last week calling this legalization a "no-brainer." Wow...