A bill introduced in the state Legislature would make Washington the second state in the nation to legalize the personal use of all drugs, ranging from psychedelic mushrooms to opiates. The measure would also pour state money into treatment and community-based intervention programs, where drug users and people with mental health problems would be referred instead of jail.
The push to legalize low-level drug possession comes after months of protests over how the criminal justice system treats people of color, especially Black people.
Researchers have consistently found that the harsh sanctions of the past century’s War on Drugs intensified racial disparities in drug arrests. While in 1976 Black people constituted
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