drug possession

(Runtime 4:14)By Jeanie Lindsay / Northwest News NetworkThe final Friday of September was an emotional day at Larch Corrections Center.The…

Washington is getting a new drug possession and addiction treatment law, after the state legislature approved a final deal during its one-day special session Tuesday. But many lawmakers call it a hard compromise that represents just one step toward tackling the state's drug crisis.

The Washington State Legislature is reconvening Tuesday, as lawmakers aim to finalize new drug possession penalties and addiction treatment resources in the state.

By Jeanie LindsayThe Washington Legislature will attempt to wrap up its unfinished business on drug possession this month.Gov. Jay Inslee announced…

In an unexpected development, the Washington state Legislature adjourned for the year late Sunday night having failed to put a new drug possession law on the books.

Lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to respond to a Washington Supreme Court decision that declared the state’s law criminalizing drug possession unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent.

In a decision with implications for tens of thousands of cases dating back decades, the Washington Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the state’s felony drug possession law because — unlike the laws of every other state — it did not require prosecutors to prove someone knowingly or intentionally possessed drugs.