{"id":64517,"date":"2023-05-03T09:27:27","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T17:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/05\/03\/washington-governor-calls-special-session-to-prevent-drug-decriminalization-from-taking-effect\/"},"modified":"2023-05-03T19:46:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T03:46:38","slug":"washington-governor-calls-special-session-to-prevent-drug-decriminalization-from-taking-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/05\/03\/washington-governor-calls-special-session-to-prevent-drug-decriminalization-from-taking-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Governor Calls Special Session To Prevent Drug Decriminalization From Taking Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cCities and counties are eager to see a statewide policy that balances accountability and treatment, and I believe we can produce a bipartisan bill that does just that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Brett Davis, The Center Square<\/strong><\/p>\n

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Tuesday afternoon that he will call a special legislative session to begin on May 16 to pass a new drug possession law, something lawmakers failed to do<\/a> during the 105-day regular session that ended on April 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy office and I have been meeting with legislators from all four caucuses and I am very optimistic about reaching an agreement that can pass both chambers,\u201d Inslee said in a news release<\/a>. \u201cCities and counties are eager to see a statewide policy that balances accountability and treatment, and I believe we can produce a bipartisan bill that does just that. Details are still being negotiated, but caucus leaders share the desire to pass a bill. I believe that starting the clock on May 16 will put us on a path to getting the job done this month.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Washington is at a crossroads and has an opportunity to replace the failed drug policies of the past with a new approach.<\/p>\n

\u2014 ACLU of Washington (@ACLU_WA) May 3, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, does not share Inslee\u2019s optimistic appraisal of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor had indicated he would not call a special session until legislative leaders reached an agreement that is worth bringing in front of each chamber,\u201d the Senate minority leader said in his own news release<\/a>. \u201cTo be clear, we\u2019re not to that point yet, although there have been productive bipartisan discussions over the past week. In that sense, his announcement today was unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Braun continued, \u201cAll along, Republicans have insisted on a new drug-possession policy that truly works for the stakeholders \u2013 law enforcement, the criminal-justice system, and local governments. They need more leverage to save lives, lift people out of the despair that goes with being addicted to drugs like fentanyl, and also reclaim our streets and sidewalks. That\u2019s still the right path for the upcoming special session. We must do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Follow this link to learn more about the Blake decision and the legislature\u2019s response this session: https:\/\/t.co\/Rpj8kI2vLz<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ACLU of Washington (@ACLU_WA) May 3, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

After the state Supreme Court\u2019s 2021 State v. Blake ruling struck down Washington\u2019s felony drug possession law as unconstitutional, lawmakers crafted a temporary \u201cBlake fix,\u201d which made drug possession a misdemeanor. The provisions of that stopgap legislation expire on July 1.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by The Center Square.<\/a><\/p>\n

The post Washington Governor Calls Special Session To Prevent Drug Decriminalization From Taking Effect<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Washington Governor Calls Special Session To Prevent Drug Decriminalization From Taking Effect<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCities and counties are eager to see a statewide policy that balances accountability and treatment, and I believe we can produce a bipartisan bill that does just that.\u201d By Brett Davis, The Center Square Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) announced Tuesday afternoon that he will call a special legislativeContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64518,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64517\/revisions\/64518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}