Possession of controlled substances will be legal in Washington state starting July 1

The 2023 legislative session ended last night without the passage of a new state law on the possession of controlled substances, leaving it now up to counties and cities to put local drug-possession laws in place once the state law adopted in 2021 expires on July 1.

SB-5536, also known as the “Blake Fix,” concerning controlled substances, counterfeit substances, and legend drug possession and treatment, passed the Senate on March 3, with 28 yeas and 21 nays. The Senate’s version increased the penalty for the possession of hard drugs to a gross misdemeanor from its current misdemeanor status that occurred as a result of the 2021 passage of SB-5476 in response to the state Supreme Court’s 2021 Blake decision.

On April 11, the House amended the Senate’s version of SB-5536, with 54 yeas and 41 nays, to limit the charge for possession back to a misdemeanor and expunge a conviction if that person has no additional arrests, charges, or convictions within a two-year period of the present conviction. The House’s version would also make knowingly possessing and using controlled substances in a public place by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means a misdemeanor and subject to diversion programs, undercutting recent ordinances passed by local municipalities.