Washington Laws and Programs

Due to its geographical location, the potential for drug-trafficking and drug use is high in Washington state. Over the last decade, the King County Bar Association (which represents the largest county in Washington State by population) has used its Drug Policy Project to successfully lead numerous professional, legal, and civic groups toward political lobbying to promote supervised treatment as a viable alternative to conventional criminal sanctions, to advance the development of state-funded prevention programs, and to expand the availability of drug courts. Currently, the state's rate of drug-related crime is much lower than the national average, so a careful review of its laws and programs can help elucidate this low drug crime rate.