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City to lean on diversion programs if drug ordinance passes

Bellingham City Council likely to cast final vote April 10

A needle lies in a pile of leaves in a downtown Bellingham alley. Bellingham City Council is likely to vote on an ordinance April 10 that would criminalize public drug use.
A needle lies in a pile of leaves in a downtown Bellingham alley. Bellingham City Council is likely to vote on an ordinance April 10 that would criminalize public drug use. (Hailey Hoffman/Cascadia Daily News)
By Olivia Palmer News Intern

An expected final vote by the Bellingham City Council on Monday, April 10, to criminalize public drug use isn’t aimed at rounding up and jailing drug users, some council members and officials say.

Council member Skip Williams said in an interview on April 3 that under the new law, police would not be quick to arrest people using drugs in public. 

“The dynamic that a lot of people have in mind is that the police are just going to sweep in there and arrest everybody and clean house, and that ain’t going to happen,” Williams said. “It’s going to be more of a warning at the beginning stages.” 

Instead, council members seem to agree alternatives to jail time need to accompany the new law. 

The ordinance, proposed by Mayor Seth Fleetwood at a March 13 council meeting, was initially rejected based on concerns that the Bellingham Municipal Court does not have a “therapeutic court” system in place for drug-related misdemeanors. Such a program would prioritize rehabilitation over incarceration but would take a minimum of six months to establish, municipal court Judge Debra Lev said during the meeting. 

With the possibility of a municipal-level community court months away, the city plans to lean on other diversion options for those affected by the new law.  

At a March 27 meeting, some council members were swayed when they learned of overdose rates and complaints from downtown businesses. Council members also heard the existing Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program still had the capacity to accept new referrals, and they provisionally approved the ordinance at the meeting.  

Council member Kristina Michele Martens, who has voted against the ordinance twice, wrote in a statement included in the April 10 agenda that the ordinance was not written in a way that would support those with substance use disorders.   

“If this was about helping people who need help, which is what both council discussions to date have leaned heavily on, this would have started with the ‘therapeutic court’ ready to go, not the other way around,” Martens wrote. 


Council members requested a presentation at the April 10 meeting from city administration outlining an implementation plan while a therapeutic drug court is established. LEAD — along with mental health court, pretrial probation services and credit for inpatient treatment — is listed as one diversion option in the April 10 city council agenda.  

LEAD is a community-based program designed to guide individuals, who have been charged within the last two years, out of the criminal justice system and connect them with intensive case management.  

The program accepts those with low-level law violations and has the capacity to support 120 to 140 individuals, Whatcom County Health Department Response Systems Manager Malora Christensen said.  

Currently, LEAD serves 110 people – a number that number ebbs and flows, Christensen said, with 10 to 15 new referrals every two weeks. For those enrolled, time in the program can be anywhere from six months to more than two years. 

“We’ve been creeping closer to capacity, but we’ve been encouraging law enforcement and prosecutors to divert to a program like LEAD if it’s appropriate,” Christensen said, adding that there’s “no wrong door” when it comes to referrals.  

If LEAD reaches capacity, a waitlist opens. Expanding the program, Christensen said, is just one option in a much larger conversation. 

Of the 110 individuals in LEAD, 92 are unhoused. Christensen said crisis response, primary care, inpatient treatment beds and affordable housing also play important roles in providing support. 

“There are so many other parts of the ecosystem of care within Whatcom County that also need additional infrastructure that needs to happen, in addition to diversion programs and outreach teams,” she said. “Growth is not something that we’re not considering, but at the same time, the whole system has to respond to the need.” 

Those enrolled in LEAD may also enroll in district mental health court operated by the Whatcom County Response Systems Division team and Health and Community Services. 

Mental health court is an option for individuals with pending charges in either the district or municipal courts. The program lasts two years and progresses over five stages, Christensen said, requiring defendants to attend court every one or two weeks. Upon successful completion of the program, all charges are dropped. 

To qualify, defendants must be diagnosed with a serious mental illness. Referrals are also based on the likelihood of recidivism and an individual’s willingness to engage in mental health care, recovery and wellness — for example, completing a GED certificate, doing community service or receiving inpatient treatment. 

Whatcom County’s mental health court has capacity for up to 40 enrolled members across district and municipal courts. Christensen said no decisions have been made yet about growth around a community court at the municipal level. 

“We would be really interested in connecting and being a part of the conversation of how that would fit into the therapeutic court model that already exists in Whatcom County,” she said. 

Other alternatives in place include pretrial probation services and credit for inpatient treatment, where defendants can receive credit toward jail sanctions for days completed in inpatient treatment. In some cases, a prosecutor may dismiss or choose not to file charges if an individual completes inpatient treatment. 

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