Bellingham City Council changes course on measure to ban illegal drug use
In an abrupt change of course, a split Bellingham City Council approved an ordinance that bans illegal drug use in public, the same way that alcohol and marijuana use are restricted.
Council members approved the ordinance 5-2 on Monday night, March 27, with Michael Lilliquist and Kristina Michele Martens dissenting.
Mayor Seth Fleetwood, who proposed the ordinance earlier this month, said it would interrupt “a cycle of open, brazen use in public with impunity” during a committee discussion Monday afternoon.
Monday night’s vote approved the ordinance on its first and second readings.
If it passes on its third and final reading, which is scheduled for Monday, April 10, use of a controlled substance in public without a prescription would be a misdemeanor subject to arrest. Public use of alcohol and marijuana are civil infractions, similar to a traffic ticket, because they are legal intoxicants.
Like most other city ordinances, it would take effect 15 days after its third and final vote.
Fleetwood proposed the new ordinance in the wake of the 2021 state Supreme Court decision in State v. Blake that limits the power of police to arrest people for drug use.
He also proposed creating a “therapeutic court” to help people beat addiction and possibly have their charges waived.
In a March 13 committee discussion, the City Council unanimously decided, with Lilliquist absent, that more work was needed on the plan and tabled it indefinitely.
City Council members said at the time that they agreed with the intent of the proposed ordinance, but that they wanted to hear more details about the so-called “therapeutic court” for people who are arrested for drug use.
But the measure returned for further committee discussion Monday, and several City Council members said they reconsidered their stance after hearing from local residents who want swift action to limit public drug use and criminal activity downtown.
“What I’m hearing from the downtown business owners is that there needs to be something to interrupt the behavior and it is not happening,” said council member Skip Williams during a committee discussion on the measure Monday afternoon.
This story was originally published March 28, 2023 at 9:10 AM.
