Capitol Hill, International District, and Central District Kick Out the War on Drugs

A kind of drug decriminalization finally makes its way to the eastside of Seattle. Corey Lee/ Shutterstock

Next month, police throughout Seattle's East Precinct—Capitol Hill, the Central District, portions of the International District, First Hill, Madison Park, and Montlake —will gain a new power: the ability to stop arresting drug users for committing low-level crimes and refer them directly into treatment instead of jail.

"We're training all the bike and patrol officers and they can all make referrals," said Lisa Daugaard, the Director of the Public Defender Association and one of the brains behind Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD). "Everyone is eligible."

The question is why it took so long. The war on drugs, as everyone knows, has been an abysmal, costly, suffering-inflicting failure.

Last year, we covered a University of Washington study that demonstrated LEAD's effectiveness in its then-limited coverage area of downtown Seattle: reducing recidivism among street drug users by roughly 60 percent compared to a control group handled by the traditional justice system.

Misti Barrickman was one of those users. She'd struggled with addictions to heroin and crack cocaine on the streets of Belltown. Seattle police had arrested her repeatedly for low level offenses. Eventually, a LEAD-trained officer referred her to a case manager, who worked diligently to get her into treatment and housing. Barrickman stopped shoplifting to feed her habit. "I think it [LEAD] should be everywhere in the United States," she said.

At the time, Mayor Ed Murray and police chief Kathleen O'Toole praised the program, but were circumspect on how they intended to expand it throughout the city.

LEAD's arrival in the East Precinct is due in large part to a concerted push by Capitol Hill's community council. Zachary Pullin, the council president, said he's been lobbying for LEAD because it will be "more effective in taking care of our neighbors, friends, and family" than locking them up.

Initially, however, the mayor's office proposed only expanding LEAD to Capitol Hill—Pullin wasn't having that, citing a "commitment to racial justice." He was particularly concerned that International District community leaders, who were clamoring for the program, were being ignored.

"We want this expansion to our neighborhood, but we want to make sure if we're going to get it they're going to get it as well," he said he told officials. "We don't want to get prioritized over another neighborhood just because we're Capitol Hill."

At an April forum hosted by City Council Member Kshama Sawant, who represents the area, the mayor's office endorsed expanding LEAD throughout the entire precinct.

We've already seen how merely equipping Seattle police officers with Naloxone has saved numerous people from fatal overdoses in alleyways and bathrooms. What's needed now is a definitive rejection of the war on drugs approach across the city—including the opening of safe consumption sites where those users can safely inject or smoke, as well as opportunities through LEAD for them to get treatment instead of jailtime when they commit addiction-fueled nonviolent crimes.

"We know it's a better paradigm, so why wouldn't we be doing it for everyone?" asks Daugaard. Last week, she presented the city council with a 34-page paper on what it would take to expand LEAD citywide. "There's no defense for the system as usual."