King County Department of Public Defense urges people with simple drug possession charges to use its free resources.

These are among the changes in Washington state law set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025. Washington state lawmakers passed roughly 340 bills during the 2024 legislative session, which wrapped up in March.

Washington state ... s lives hang in the balance. A law passed in 2021 prevents the state from removing children from homes simply because their parents are drug addicts. Additionally, children ...

It also classifies drug use on transit as a drug-designated misdemeanor, allowing those convicted access to state ... possession of small amounts of hard drugs a Class C misdemeanor. This law ...

Ketterling said the simple drug possession law was found unconstitutional when a Washington Supreme Court ruling in the State v. Blake case found that to be guilty of simple drug possession ...