Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
CDC report shows alarming statistics for Washington
COLFAX –– New statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention show Washington’s fatal drug-overdose situation to have grown exponentially since previous years. This is the third time that the CDC has issued a report showing Washington State to have the highest percentage increase in deaths and crimes than any other state.
Defense attorneys Criminal Defense analyzed data from the United States Sentencing Commission for the fiscal year 2022 to determine the categories of crimes for which each state receives the most sentences.
The categories of crime that have the highest sentencing rates per 100,000 in Washington are Drug Trafficking, Other and Firearms.
Drug trafficking comes as the most sentenced crime with a rate of 2.89 federal sentences per 100,000, reports show.
“From my own experience in the last 3 or 4 years everything from non enforcement of drug times and the way we almost disallow law enforcement from contact with juveniles that has really affected law enforcement,” said Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers. “We just have to work harder and we are doing the best we can.”
The Blake ruling in 2021 declared Washington’s felony drug-possession statute was unconstitutional because it criminalized possession even when a person did not knowingly have drugs. As a result, the Whitman County Sheriffs office was forced to cease efforts.
“Only about ten days ago were we able to legally charge people for illegal drug possession,” said Myers.
In May 2023, legislation met in a one-day session to change the law. In creating “The Blake Fix” a criminal’s drug offence that came before July 2023 were no longer taken into account in sentencing. Since the law took effect on July 1, police agencies have had more freedom to pursue drug related offences, however, the recent report from the CDC does not reflect a large change.
“I think we are going to see a little bit of improvement in Washington State,” Myers said.
According to a report from the CDC, Washington has seen a 28.4% increase in drug-overdose deaths between March 2022 and March 2023 (up from 23.9% for the period between February 2022 and February 2023).
“I can say for a fact that people who are committing property crimes, major assaults, and others typically fall into drug crimes. They almost go hand in hand,” Myers said.
However, the Whitman County Sheriffs Office is sending a message to drug offenders that they will not tolerate illicit and illegal drugs in the community. Myers noted that smaller counties, like Whitman County, are doing a great job.
“We have already had several people arrested and we take it very seriously. We are absolutely using our discretion and booking those people. We want to send a message that we will not tolerate hard drugs in this county,” added Myers. “We want to help people and there are people who need that desperately, and need to be incarcerated.”
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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