Once known as Washington’s “most hippie” town, Bellingham has enacted a strict anti-drug ordinance in response to a surge in crime and overdose fatalities among children following statewide drug decriminalization.
The city of 92,000 residents has seen the fire department responding to 223 overdose calls, or 2.5 a day, between January and April 12, as reported by Cascadia Daily.
A 5-year-old and two teenagers are among the deceased. The young child, who overdosed on fentanyl in March, was discovered by police with foam coming from her mouth.
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Council member Edwin Williams recounted a harrowing incident where a man was found dead, unnoticed for hours, in a parking lot.
He told The New York Post: “A man was sitting on the curb in a parking lot with his head bowed, right out in the open … and a police officer told me that he had been dead for at least 12 hours,” Williams said. “It shocked me to my core.”
“I have lived here for 30 years, and no, I haven’t seen anything like this,” Williams said. “I would characterize our city as one that is trying and willing to bend over backwards to help and provide people with programs to address either addiction or homelessness.”
“But at this point — the combination of COVID, the pervasiveness of fentanyl and the state law being changed — pushed everything to the limit. It was just the perfect storm and at some point, something had to be done,” Williams continued.
To combat the issue, Bellingham officials approved an ordinance on April 10, criminalizing the public use of hard drugs, a stark departure from the decriminalization law enacted two years prior.
The 5-year-old’s death and two teen fatalities helped galvanize the city council’s decision.
Fifteen-year old Emily Halasz was found dead at a homeless encampment behind the Bellingham Home Depot on March 8. Aaren Coleman, 17, died at his grandfather’s home in King County.
Whatcom County, which includes Bellingham, has had an explosion of overdose deaths since 2018. According to the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 11 overdose deaths in 2018. That number has skyrocketed with 50 in 2021 and 89 in 2022.
The new ordinance has been met with controversy, as some residents prefer a “diversion rather than jail” approach.
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Mayor Seth Fleetwood confirmed the inclusion of a “community court” component in the ordinance, allowing for possible diversion programs.
Parents Steve and Laurie Satushek, who lost their 29-year-old son, Mick, to drug overdose, argue the ordinance is insufficient.
Mick suffered from schizophrenia for more than a decade and was possibly abusing methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Despite multiple stays in mental health treatment centers and rehab facilities, Mick succumbed to his struggles and was found dead in the town’s Arne Hanna Aquatic Center on April 5.
Laurie blamed the inadequacies of the system for her son’s fate.
“It’s been 10 years of living hell, understanding what happens with people that are mentally ill,” Laurie said in tears. “The fact that my son overdosed on fentanyl or any drug was just bound to happen because he did not have a chance in our system.”
Steve criticized Washington’s failure to address the mental health and drug crisis, leaving people like his son without a safety net.
“I walk around downtown and it’s just awful. I went with my son to some of these homeless camps, and they’re just horrid, filthy places. I feel real strongly that we need to go back to what the New York mayor [Eric Adams] and [California] Gov. Gavin Newsom have said, which is to involuntarily commit people who need that help,” Steve said.
The rise in crime and public drug use in Bellingham became apparent after the 2021 state Supreme Court overturned Washington’s law that made simple drug possession a felony.
The current state law, which classifies drug possession as a misdemeanor upon the third arrest, is set to expire on July 1.
A proposed bill for harsher punishments, including a 90-day jail sentence, failed to pass the state Senate last month.
Governor Jay Inslee expressed his disapproval of decriminalization amid the fentanyl crisis after the bill’s failure.
“We cannot accept decriminalization in the middle of a fentanyl crisis,” Inslee said.
Frustration is mounting among Washingtonians, who fear politicians’ inaction will result in more lives lost.
Laurie Satushek urged for change, emphasizing that their efforts to save their son were not enough.
“We are fairly affluent but there was still nothing we could do to save our son because the system worked against him,” Laurie Satushek said.
“We did ‘tough love’ and sent him to treatment centers. We did everything that we could to advocate for him. It was not enough and something has to change.”