It was one of the most stunning conclusions to a legislative session I’ve seen in my career. Washington State House Democrats brought a critical bill on drug possession up for a vote in the final hours, only to watch it crash and burn – defeated by members of their own party who felt it went too far in criminalizing substance abuse.
On Tuesday, lawmakers will return to Olympia for a special session and another chance to either establish a meaningful threat of punishment for hard drug possession or plunge our state even deeper into a health and safety crisis that’s killing people at record levels.
In a sane world, the path forward would be easy.
Unfortunately, sanity doesn’t seem to factor into the equation for a small but powerful faction of Progressive state lawmakers. The true test is whether rational Democrats in the House and Senate will side with Republicans to build consensus or bow to the worst impulses of the pro-crime wing of their party.
Ahead of the special session, here is everything you need to know about what led to this moment.
