With the spread of the novel coronavirus through the state of Washington, life has changed drastically for most people. These changes were largely due to government-mandated shutdowns which forced people to stay at home and also forced businesses to close their doors. This was, however, unless th...

The effects of the coronavirus are widespread, and the state of Washington has certainly been hit hard. However, it has not been able to stop a group of criminal justice reform advocates from attempting to gather enough signatures to put their initiative on the ballot for November. This initiativ...

Drug use in Washington is a very complicated issue with many aspects to consider and evaluate. The use of illicit drugs can be very dangerous to an individual's health, and to the health of a community. As such, Washington State has legislation that treats the possession and selling of these drug...

If you have been arrested and charged with a drug or VUCSA (Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act) crime, it can feel like the world is caving in on you. Depending on the substance and amount, it is possible that you could be facing years in prison, hefty fines, or both. However, you ...

Health experts are warning that people who are in recovery from substance abuse might be facing elevated levels of risk given the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures enacted at the municipal, state, and federal level to attempt to curb the spread of the virus. Earlier this month, we...

Washington was one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use. Over the past few years, many other states across the US have followed suit. This presented a unique challenge to law enforcement: how to enforce laws against driving under the influence of marijuana. Specifi...

As we face new realities every day in order to mitigate the pandemic of COVID19, we discover new ways in which different segments of the population are affected by orders to quarantine and practice social distancing. We are also continuing to see the outcomes of the virus on certain segments of t...

The family of a woman who died in police custody has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against those responsible for her care after obtaining video surveillance that allegedly shows her pleas for medical care were ignored by law enforcement officials. Madelyn Linsenmeir died in police custody in Spr...

Some of the more recent states to legalize recreational marijuana, such as California and Illinois, also wrote into their laws that those who had previously been convicted for possessing marijuana would be able to apply to have their records expunged. Marijuana convictions disproportionately affe...

Gregory Robinson, an NFL player with the Cleveland Browns, was set to become a free agent in March, but instead, he is now facing federal charges of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana. He and a former teammate are being held without bond in an El Paso jail. Robinson, a...

Earlier this month, three men died from accidental fentanyl overdoses within hours of each other and within the same vicinity of each other in south Renton. This led to King County health officials to issue a warning about the drug, saying that people should avoid buying painkillers off the stree...

Imagine this scenario: you occasionally use recreational marijuana and recently you applied for a dream job at a new company. You get hired, and a week after your start date you are asked to take a drug test as part of the company's policy. You knew when you were hired that the company had a drug...

We all would like to think that law enforcement officials have no prejudices or predisposed ideas about those they encounter in their line of work, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. A sheriff in South Carolina resigned in January 2020 after a controversial arrest led to an internal ...

A new study published in Neuron suggests a new neurological framework for treating addiction. Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School found that stimulating cells they're calling  "the hidden stars of the brain" can help regulate brain function as it relates to dopamine, one of ...

Local news outlets are reporting that a suspect was shot in Belltown by law enforcement during a joint narcotics operation involving the Seattle Police Department and the King County Sheriff's Office. The Seattle Police Department issued a statement that claimed investigators attempted to arrest ...

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has released its Strategic Planning Guide for Preventing Drug Misuse Among College Students. The report includes findings on the trends of substance use among college students, risk factors for use, and counsels schools on how they can establish, maintain, and...

The opioid epidemic wrought widespread devastation across the United States, causing overdose deaths, arrests, and addiction on a massive scale. The shocking statistics are heard all too frequently: more Americans now die each year from overdoses than those who perished in the Vietnam, Afghan, an...

The new year has brought many new laws in states all across the country. Nationally, the legal age to buy tobacco or nicotine products is now 21. Three states passed red flag laws, which allows a judge to remove a person's firearm if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others (affecti...

As 2019 is winding down and we look back at some of the headlines, the mysterious vaping illness that swept the country is one of the bigger stories from the past year. Over 2,290 people have been made sick and 47 people have died after coming down with a mysterious respiratory illness after vapi...

Perhaps it's a sign of the times we are living in, with ten states legalizing recreational marijuana while a major opioid epidemic still rages across the country, but Major League Baseball has announced that they will remove marijuana from their list of “drugs of abuse.”  Joint Statement Major ...

The Washington State legislature will convene in January for a three-month term. During that time, they will hold meetings and committee sessions to decide on whether to pass new legislation for the state. And proponents of homegrown marijuana are buzzed that 2020 may be the year Washington elect...

A supervisor at a UPS distribution center in Tucson, Arizona took advantage of his position to operate a drug and cash smuggling operation. A total of 11 people were arrested in late November 2019 after a two-year investigation by both the Tucson Police Department and the Department of Homeland S...

On Friday, November 8, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced that they may have identified what has been behind the rash of vaping illnesses that have been happening all across the country: vitamin E acetate. So far this year, over 2,000 people have become sick and 40 people have ...

People have joked that “anything goes” when you're down under in Australia, but police there were not laughing when they made a huge discovery late last month.  Hot Sauce for Ice The Australian Border Force discovered that a shipment of hundreds of Sriracha bottles from the United States did no...

A recent case down in New Orleans highlights what has been a steady trend lately in America: more and more people think marijuana possession charges are too harsh. The case involves Jabar Kensey, a server at the renowned New Orleans restaurant Antoine's. Kensey was caught with an ounce of mariju...