Post by addisona on May 26, 2022 2:14:13 GMT
New Poll Suggests Most of Washington Wants to End the war on drugs
Here's something to consider this morning: A new survey of 832 Washington voters found majority support for Initiative 1992. That proposal would decriminalize all drugs statewide (but still allow cops to confiscate them if they catch people using them), expunge criminal records for possession, and direct $141 million in pot revenues to outreach and recovery services. Dealing drugs would remain illegal, of course, so cops could continue to stage buy-busts if they wanted to keep criminalizing addiction rather than treating it as a public health issue, but already I digress.
According to the survey, 53% of respondents supported the measure, 39% voiced opposition, and 9% kept their cards close to their chest. Those results seem like pretty good news for Commit to Change WA, the advocacy group funded by the ACLU of Washington that paid for the poll and hopes to put the question on the ballot this autumn.
During a press conference last week with members of the coalition, pollster Dave Metz said the new survey results largely align with voter sentiment expressed in previous polls on the issue. Broadly, most people in Washington say they're concerned about substance use, believe that criminalizing it has been "a demonstrated failure," and prefer a public health approach to addressing it, he said.
Everett Maroon, executive director of Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, a case management service out in Walla Walla, counts himself among the many who think jailing people caught with drugs hasn't worked. "All we do is arrest the person, arrest their progress, and then subject them to a very high risk of overdose and overdose death when they’re released," he said during the presser.
www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/05/02/72070084/we-want-to-end-the-war-on-drugs
Here's something to consider this morning: A new survey of 832 Washington voters found majority support for Initiative 1992. That proposal would decriminalize all drugs statewide (but still allow cops to confiscate them if they catch people using them), expunge criminal records for possession, and direct $141 million in pot revenues to outreach and recovery services. Dealing drugs would remain illegal, of course, so cops could continue to stage buy-busts if they wanted to keep criminalizing addiction rather than treating it as a public health issue, but already I digress.
According to the survey, 53% of respondents supported the measure, 39% voiced opposition, and 9% kept their cards close to their chest. Those results seem like pretty good news for Commit to Change WA, the advocacy group funded by the ACLU of Washington that paid for the poll and hopes to put the question on the ballot this autumn.
During a press conference last week with members of the coalition, pollster Dave Metz said the new survey results largely align with voter sentiment expressed in previous polls on the issue. Broadly, most people in Washington say they're concerned about substance use, believe that criminalizing it has been "a demonstrated failure," and prefer a public health approach to addressing it, he said.
Everett Maroon, executive director of Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, a case management service out in Walla Walla, counts himself among the many who think jailing people caught with drugs hasn't worked. "All we do is arrest the person, arrest their progress, and then subject them to a very high risk of overdose and overdose death when they’re released," he said during the presser.
www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/05/02/72070084/we-want-to-end-the-war-on-drugs