Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
OLYMPIA — A bill making its way through the Legislature would make possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine a gross misdemeanor.
Senate Bill 5536 passed the Senate by a 28-21 vote Friday night.
The bill is designed in response to the state Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling that the state’s drug-possession law was unconstitutional.
While the bill passed the Senate, it does not go far enough to address the drug problems, Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane said Saturday.
“This bill does not go far enough to provide the leverage needed to help people get off dangerous drugs,” he said. “It’s disappointing that the Senate did not restore making possession of fentanyl and other hard drugs a felony, as it was before the Supreme Court upended our state’s drug laws in the Blake decision two years ago.
The measure’s passage comes just three months after Amber Kelly, 38, of Tekoa, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for a fentanyl -related crime.
Kelly was convicted on two counts of delivering a controlled substance (fentanyl) to a friend who overdosed and died.
Nikki Overton, 22, of Tekoa, died May , 2022
Kelley was initially arrested on a charge of controlled substance homicide. The charge was dropped after the Whitman County coroner determined that while fentanyl was a fact in Overton’s death, other substances were also found.
Overton’s parents, Phil and Laurie Overton, spoke to the Whitman County Gazette in January about the need to raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.
“You think it’s a safe community for your kids,” Mr. Overton said, noting his daughter was a three-sport athlete, had showed hogs at the Whitman County fair since fourth-grade and raised money for children’s cancer several times. “There’s no stereotypical addict … this poison is everywhere unfortunately.”
The Overton’s agree with the sentencing of Kelly, noting Judge Gary Libey did a “good jo9b” of presiding over the case.
“A jury found her guilty of two counts of a controlled substance, one being fentanyl and one being hydrocodone,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Wendy Lierman said at the time.
Following the case, Judge Libey said drug crimes need to be addressed.
“These offenses must be taken seriously and there must be accountability to those that deal drugs,” Libey said.
Padden said the state is facing a crisis, and that the bill, while a step in the right direction, doesn’t go far enough..
“The threat of a longer sentence is a needed motivation for drug offenders to undergo treatment,” he said. “We need a balance between accountability and treatment that this legislation doesn’t achieve.”
The bill doesn’t make “meaningful and needed changes” to state drug laws, he said.
Senate Bill 5536 now goes to the House of Representatives.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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