Supporting Safe Injection Sites and needle exchange in the 21st Legislative District

WHEREAS communities in the United States are experiencing opioid related drug use, overdose, crime, and health disparities that have negative socio-economic impacts;

WHEREAS in Washington State’s Snohomish County has some of the largest adverse impacts compared to other communities in Washington State;

WHEREAS the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department reports that 18% of all heroin-related deaths in Washington State occur in Snohomish County; and from 2011 – 2013 approximately 1 out of every 5 heroin deaths in Washington State occurred in Snohomish County; and in 2013 alone, heroin and prescription opioid overdoses represented 2 out of 3 of the 130 accidental overdose deaths in the county;

WHEREAS the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department is calling on collaborative partnerships, and approaches to intervene and reverse the effect of opioid addiction in Snohomish County;

WHEREAS the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department is equipping officers with the overdose intervention drug naloxone, and turning away criminal bookings that have opioid induced medical issues, because they overcrowd the medical unit at the Snohomish County Jail;

WHEREAS other Snohomish County based agencies such as the Everett Police Department, are deploying embedded social workers to provide resources to to address opioid addicts in the field;

WHEREAS these are partial solutions that contribute to addressing the opioid crisis in Snohomish County but do not comprehensively mitigate the adverse impact of opioid addiction in the community;

WHEREAS safe injection sites and needle exchanges are researched methods of harm reduction that have been utilized in many different countries including Canada, Australia, and European Countries;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the 21st Legislative District Democrats of Washington State, call on our elected officials on all levels to pass legislation that increases funding for safe injection sites and needle exchange programs;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we urge legislation supporting Safe injection sites and needle exchange programs as harm reduction strategies;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call for a repeal of the ban on Safe injection sites by the City of Lynnwood and Snohomish County;

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call on local county organizations and other democratic and progressive organizations to help fund and look for funds to support Safe injection sites and needle exchange programs;

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we the 21st Legislative District Democrats, urge municipalities and elected officials, to utilize safe injection sites and needle exchanges as a harm reduction strategies to reduce the impact of opioid use in Snohomish County.

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submitted by Strom Peterson and Jonathan Peebles