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Washington State Supreme Court Rules Drug Possession Law Unconstitutional In 5-4 Decision On 3/13/21 at 12:14 AM EST The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the state's felony drug possession law is unconstitutional. The court's decision potentially upends years' worth of convictions, imprisonment and related fines, leaving prosecutors, lawyers and legislators unsure how to proceed. A Democratic state legislator has introduced a replacement law to re-criminalize drug possession. But some legal and drug reform advocates would prefer it remain an inactive relic from War on Drugs. The ...

Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets (CAHOOTS) is a mobile crisis intervention team integrated into the public safety system of the Oregon cities of Eugene and Springfield. (CAHOOTS) In the past year, as cities have searched for alternatives to police while handling crisis calls, many have arrived in an unlikely place: Eugene, Oregon. In this episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on efforts to defunding the police, host Sara Bernard heads to Eugene for a virtual ride along with CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets), an inventive and unique effort to respond to ...

Community members hold a press conference addressing an upcoming Seattle City Council vote on an agreement between the Seattle Police Officers Guild and the city of Seattle at City Hall, Nov. 13, 2018. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut) As anti-racism protesters filled city streets this past summer with calls for a radical rethinking of public safety, a majority of Seattle City Council members responded by committing to cut the city's police budget by 50%. But making good on that promise has been difficult. In this, the final episode of This Changes Everything’s focus on efforts to defund the poli...

Torin Bracey chants during a ‘Count Every Vote, Protect Every Person’ rally in Pioneer Square, Nov. 4, 2020. Hundreds of people peacefully marched through Pioneer Square with limited police presence — a noticeable difference from the night before, which ended in multiple arrests of protesters. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut) In the midst of the anti-racism protests that followed the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last spring, a new cry went out: "Defund the police!" And in the weeks that followed, Seattle city leaders appeared to be listening. Members of the Seattle City Cou...

Proponents of the nation's Defund Police movement have argued that some police funding could be redirected to fund community programs, which would help improve policing, lower police interactions for at-risk populations and lead to better job satisfaction for police and results for taxpayers. (Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut) Many activists leading the call to defund the police say the answer to disproportionate policing is to take money from the cops and give it to communities. But change is never as easy as writing new lines in a city budget. In this episode of This Changes Everything’s look at...