Category Archives: Drug Offenses

Drug Overdose Deaths Hit Highest Level On Record

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U.S. drug overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year

According to provisional data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdoses in the United States were deadlier than ever in 2021.

Nearly 108,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2021, and about two-thirds of those deaths involved fentanyl or another synthetic opioid. Overdose deaths have been on the rise for years in the US, but surged amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. Annual deaths were nearly 50% higher in 2021 than in 2019, CDC data shows.

The spike in overdose deaths in the second year of the pandemic wasn’t as quite as dramatic as in the first year: Overdose deaths were up about 15% between 2020 and 2021, compared with a 30% jump between 2019 and 2020. But the change is still stark. In 2021, about 14,000 more people died of overdose deaths in than in 2020, the CDC data shows.

“This is indeed a continuation of an awful trend. Rates of overdose deaths have been on an upward climb for decades now, increasing at unprecedented rates right before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S.” ~Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The pandemic accelerated trends that were already heading in the wrong direction, and experts say that reversing course will require concentrated efforts — and it will take time, both strategically and ideologically.

Treatment for drug abuse was lacking even before the pandemic. In 2019, more than 20 million people ages 12 and older reported having a substance abuse disorder, only 10% of whom reported receiving care, according to a report from the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

And a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation cites evidence that access and utilization of these services has gotten even worse during the pandemic.

The illicit drug supply in the US has also seen a “massive shift” over the past two decades. Increasing use of synthetic drugs caught the attention of experts before Covid-19 hit, but the pandemic may have exacerbated the problem. With international travel limited, synthetics that are easier to manufacture and more concentrated were likely more efficient to smuggle across borders, Volkow said.

Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, psychostimulants such as methamphetamine, and cocaine all increased between 2020 and 2021, according to the new CDC data. Deaths involving natural or semi-synthetic drugs, such as prescription drugs, fell slightly from the year prior.

My opinion? This is a devastating milestone in the history of the overdose epidemic in America. When we report numbers, we must remember that each number represents an individual, their families, and their communities. Compounding the issue is the fact that the WA Supreme Court struck down Washington felony drug possession law. In the wake of the Blake decision on February 25, people can no longer be arrested for simple drug possession in Washington state.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a Drug Offense or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Fentanyl-Filled Pills Seized by US law Enforcement up 4,850%

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Fentanyl-related overdoses increase across Georgia, the DPH reports - 41NBC News | WMGT-DT

Great article by Erin McCormick discusses how  a new study found that more than two million counterfeit pills were confiscated in the last quarter of 2021 alone.

And over the past four years, the number of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl that have been seized by US law enforcement jumped by 4,850%. The new study shows an alarming surge in the deadly drug is putting people at increasing risk for accidental overdose.

Using a first-of-its-kind, real-time analysis of federal data, the study found that more than 2m fake pills were seized by officials in the last quarter of 2021 alone. This was a drastic increase up from 42,000 in the first quarter of 2018. Researchers also found that the number of individual seizures involving fentanyl pills increased by 834%.

The study’s authors say this reflects the huge supply of these pills. Apparently, criminal drug networks manufacture the pills to look like legitimate pharmaceutical tablets sold on the streets.

“These look just like prescription pills. That’s the scary part. One pill that contains fentanyl literally can kill you.” ~Study’s lead author, Joseph Palamar, professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

The study comes at a time when the number of overdose deaths in the US has exploded to more than 100,000 a year due to the huge amounts of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids saturating the nation’s drug supply. Fentanyl is as much as 100 times more potent than morphine and, as Palamar notes, one small baggie of the stuff can contain enough of the drug to kill hundreds of people.

In a two-month period in 2021, the US Drug Enforcement Agency announced it had arrested 810 drug traffickers across the United States and seized enough fentanyl-filled pills to kill more than 700,000 Americans.

Researchers said the number of drug seizures is a reflection of the huge amount of fentanyl on the streets and warned of the dangers it can pose to unknowing members of the public, particularly young people who may be unwittingly buying fentanyl-tainted pills online or from friends.

“Pills can disguise the risk,” said study coauthor Dr Daniel Ciccarone, a professor specializing in addiction medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “A pill can be taken by a college student who is trying to stay up all night to study for an exam and doesn’t know whether his buddy is selling him real Adderall or fake Adderall. A pill can be taken by a kid who goes to a club and thinks he’ll have more fun if he takes the party drug MDMA – and instead he gets fentanyl.”

Ciccarone and Palamar said people should avoid any pill that isn’t prescribed by their own doctor – including medicines given to them by friends or bought over social media or on the street. At the very least, users of illicit drugs should consider testing them with fentanyl detection strips, available through many health departments and needle exchange groups, they said.

“The street pill is now much more dangerous than it was for earlier generations,” said Cicarrone. “That is the problem.”

The study’s innovative methodology analyzed real-time federal data on the drugs being seized by law enforcement on streets and at border crossings around the nation, in what researchers hope can become an early warning system for spotting new drug dangers on the market and even heading off overdose deaths.

“An increase in illicit pills containing fentanyl points to a new and increasingly dangerous period in the United States,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the study. “Pills are often taken or snorted by people who are more naive to drug use, and who have lower tolerances. When a pill is contaminated with fentanyl, as is now often the case, poisoning can easily occur.”

Young people have been particularly hard hit by recent drug overdose deaths. An earlier analysis showed youth under 24 account for the fastest rise in drug deaths, with 7,337 youth dying in 2020 alone.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a drug offense of any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

2021: Deadly for Drivers

Bellingham Defense Attorney, Driving While License Suspended/Revoked, Driving With Wheels Off Roadway, Drug Offenses, DUI, Mount Vernon Criminal Defense Attorney, Reckless Driving, Skagit County Criminal Defense, Vehicular Assault, Vehicular Homicide, Whatcom County Criminal Defense, , , , ,

Excellent article by journalist David Kroman found that 2021 was the deadliest on Washington roads in 15 years.

Washington for the year saw 540 fatal crashes, which killed more than 600 people, according to data from the Washington State Department of Transportation. Not since 2006 have the numbers been that high. In 118 of the year’s fatal crashes, a bicyclist or pedestrian was killed. An additional 2,411 crashes in 2021 resulted in likely serious injury — also the most since 2006 and 16% more than in 2020.

Alcohol- and drug-influenced serious and fatal crashes remained high in 2021, sustaining a harrowing 25% jump from 2019 to 2020. Speed, too, continued to play an outsized role after climbing nearly 18% in 2020.

Kroman reports that in Seattle, 31 people were killed in car crashes in 2021, according to preliminary data from the Seattle Department of Transportation. That, too, is the most since 2006. Jim Curtain, project development director at SDOT, said 19 of those deaths were pedestrians, and nearly half involved hit-and-runs. The city has also seen a jump in impaired driving, Curtain said.

INTERPRETING THE DATA

Kroman reports that early in the pandemic, reports from state troopers suggested behavior behind the wheel had become more extreme. There was a rise of speed-related crashes and so-called “aggressive drivers.” As the roads emptied, drivers could more easily hit triple digits on their speedometers. Combined with a rise in alcohol and drug use, collisions that may have been moderate in 2019 became serious or deadly in 2020.

As traffic returns, 2021’s picture is less obvious. Speed and distraction are almost certainly at the trend’s core, said Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington State Transportation Center at the University of Washington. But there’s another, more nebulous cause that’s even more difficult to track.

“We have a pissed-off society . . . When you are in your big metal box of a car, you have an awful lot of ability to act out your frustrations both with accelerator and brake.” ~Mark Hallenbeck, director of the Washington State Transportation Center

HOW WASHINGTON COMPARES

Washington’s 6% rise in serious and fatal crashes from 2019 to 2020 was close to average for the country that year, which saw a national 7% spike, according to the National Safety Council. Maine, Arkansas and Washington, D.C., experienced the sharpest jumps, each over 30%. Rhode Island saw a 24% increase.

My opinion? The stressors of 2020-21 — isolation, uncertainty, fear — remain. And with them comes an environment still conducive to risk, substance abuse and high speeds. Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a DUI, Reckless Driving or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Blake Case & Bail Jumping

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HOW PROSECUTORS USE BAIL JUMPING CHARGES TO COERCE GUILTY PLEAS

Ever since the WA Supreme Court decided State v. Blake – which held Unlawful Possession  of Controlled Substance charges and convictions unconstitutional – I’m inundated with questions from defendants on what that means. Can other charges filed alongside the drug charge get dismissed? Are Bail Jumping charges dismissible, too?

Fortunately,  the WA Court of Appeals decided the issue and answered these questions. In State v. Stacy, the Court of APpeals found that the invalidation of the defendant’s  conviction for a Drug Possession charge does not affect the validity of his Bail Jumping convictions.

BACKGROUND FACTS

Here, Mr. Stacy seeks relief from personal restraint imposed following his 2019 plea of guilty to one count of Unlawful Possession of Controlled Substances (UPCS) and two counts of Bail Jumping, committed while charged with UPCS. He argues that under State v. Blake, which held UPCS charges and convictions unconstitutional, he is entitled to have all convictions vacated.

COURT’S ANALYSIS & CONCLUSIONS

The Court of Appeals’ decision is captured in two sentences below:

“The State concedes that under Blake, Stacy is entitled to have his conviction for unlawful possession of controlled substances vacated. But the invalidation of his conviction for unlawful possession of controlled substances does not affect the validity of the bail jumping convictions. State v. Downing, 122 Wn. App. 185, 193, 93 P.2d 900 (2004).” ~WA Court of Appeals

In other words, Mr. Stacy’s Bail Jumping conviction was upheld despite the fact his UPCS – were later found unconstitutional. The Court’s usage of State v. Downing was notable.

In Downing, the WA Court of Appeals upheld the defendant’s Bail Jumping charges even though his underlying Unlawful Issuance of Bank Check charges were dismissed. It reasoned that although no Washington cases addressed whether the charge underlying an allegation of Bail Jumping must be valid, the State is not required to prove that a defendant was detained under a constitutionally valid conviction.

With that, the Court of Appeals in Mr. Stacy’s case dismissed his UPCS convictions and upheld his Bail Jump convictions.

Please read my guide on Making Bail and contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Offender Score Post-Blake

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Comment | Where is the Literature of Dissent?

In State v. Markovich, the WA Court of Appeals held that an out-of-state conviction for drug possession may not be included in the calculation of an offender score. There is no longer a comparable Washington offense after State v. Blake declared Washington’s strict liability simple possession statute to be unconstitutional.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In the early morning hours of July 13, 2017, police officers broke down the door of an apartment in Everett while executing a search warrant. The defendant Mr. Markovich was sitting on a couch in the front room of the apartment. Officers noticed digital scales, loaded and unloaded syringes, baggies, burnt aluminum foil, and a small stack of cash near the couch. Markovich was handcuffed and led outside the apartment. He had a small “baggie” containing a white substance in his pocket. The substance was later determined to be less than a gram of methamphetamine.

In the bedroom, officers also discovered a black fabric bag containing a larger quality of methamphetamine, heroin, and related drug paraphernalia. Markovich was charged with Possession of Methamphetamine and Heroin With Intent to Deliver or Manufacture.

At trial, Markovich was convicted as charged. The court imposed a high-end standard range sentence of 108 months in prison followed by 12 months of community custody. Markovich appealed on numerous grounds.

While this appeal was pending, the Washington Supreme Court decided State v. Blake, holding that Washington’s drug possession statute, RCW 69.50.4013(1), violated the due process clauses of the state and federal constitutions and was void. 197 Wn.2d at 186. Markovich filed a motion for resentencing in superior court, arguing that he was entitled to resentencing in light of Blake because his two prior out-of-state convictions for drug possession were included in the calculation of his offender score.

COURT’S ANALYSIS & CONCLUSIONS

On this issue, the Court of Appeals reasoned that a prior conviction based on a constitutionally invalid statute may not be considered when calculating an offender score.

“A sentence that is based upon an incorrect offender score is a fundamental defect that inherently results in a miscarriage of justice,” said the Court, quoting In re Pers. Restraint of Goodwin. The Court emphasized that the remedy for such a defect is resentencing under the correct offender score:

“In Blake, the Supreme Court declared Washington’s strict liability drug possession statute unconstitutional and void. Because penalties imposed under the invalid statute are void, defendants who were sentenced based on an offender score that included prior convictions under this unconstitutional statute are entitled to resentencing.” ~WA Court of Appeals.

Consequently, although the Court agreed with Markovich on this issue and re-sentenced his accordingly, it nevertheless denied his remaining claims on appeal.

My opinion? Good decision, overall. Our Court’s are dutifully re-calculating offender scores in the wake of the Blake decision. However, this opinion dealt only with convictions from other states.  A specific statute, RCW 9.94A.525(3) treats federal convictions for crimes for which there is no clearly comparable offense under Washington law as a class C felony equivalent in the offender score.  Federal simple drug possession felonies should, therefore, continue to be included in the offender score.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

COVID Increases Overdoses

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Coronavirus US: DEA seizes $1M worth of heroin, Fentanyl labeled ' coronavirus' bio-hazard, 'Black Mamba' in Bronx drug bust - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

Great article by Brian Mann from NPR says that researchers have seen a significant rise in overdose deaths from street drugs laced with deadly synthetic opioids including Fentanyl.

“We’ve seen a very significant rise in mortality,” said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, who spoke Thursday as part of an on-line gathering of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The trend contributed to a stark rise in overdoses that left more than 90,000 Americans dead during the 12-month period ending in September 2020, according to the latest data.

According to preliminary figures released earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, synthetic opioid fatalities rose by an unprecedented 55% during the twelve months ending in September 2020. Deaths from methamphetamines and other stimulants also surged by roughly 46%, an increase Volkow said is linked to fentanyl contamination. In all more than 90,000 Americans died from overdoses in the latest 12-month period for which preliminary data is available. That compares to roughly 70,000 drug deaths during the same period a year earlier.

As the CDC has updated its fatal overdose estimates during the pandemic, the upward trend has shown no sign of slowing. As recently as October, data suggested the country was on track for at least 75,000 overdose deaths in 2o2o. That would have been a grim new record, but the latest figures make it clear the toll will be far higher. Preliminary data for the full year won’t be available until mid-summer.

Studies have also shown a significant increase in the number of Americans using alcohol or drugs to cope with the pressures of the pandemic. One team of CDC researchers found roughly 13% of people surveyed either began using drugs during the pandemic or increased their use of illicit substances.

“COVID-19 has made us aware how negative the stigmatization of substance use disorders has been over time,” Volkow said.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face Drug Offenses or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Senate Passes Bill to Recriminalize Drug Possession

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Washington State Supreme Court Rules Drug Possession Law Unconstitutional In 5-4 Decision

Great article by Sara Gentzler of the News Tribune reports that the Washington State Senate approved a bill Thursday that would make drug possession a gross misdemeanor and require diversion to treatment for a person’s first two offenses.

The measure comes in response to the WA State Supreme Court’s so-called Blake decision in February that made the state’s simple drug possession law unconstitutional.

While the proposal captured enough votes to move over to the House of Representatives for more consideration, it did not amass broad support and laid bare disagreements among lawmakers.

A majority of justices on the state Supreme Court found the state’s law was unconstitutional because it didn’t require prosecutors to prove an accused person knowingly or intentionally had drugs. The decision, known as State v. Blake, was released in the middle of the legislative session to immediate, widespread impact.

The 28-20 Senate vote on Thursday reflected the lack of consensus among legislators in how best to proceed

The original, struck-down law made possession of controlled substances a class C felony. The amended bill that passed out of the Senate would take that down to a gross misdemeanor.

The first two times someone is arrested for possession, the bill would require them to be diverted to a treatment program. If they’re arrested for possession again, treatment would be encouraged but not required.

The bill also would allow court commissioners to help resentence people convicted under the law that was deemed unconstitutional. The bill now moves to the House, where Democrats this week introduced their own proposal to address the Supreme Court decision.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Pot Sales Boomed in Washington During COVID-19 Pandemic

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Here comes 'Big Marijuana' and the Republican hypocrites | Higher Ground | Detroit | Detroit Metro Times

A new Leafly report shows that national sales boomed during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, including in Washington, leading to growth in revenue and jobs.

Also, Leafly’s more recent Jobs Report shows that nationally, cannabis sales saw a 71% surge between 2019 and 2020. And Americans bought $18.3 billion worth of pot products in 2020, according to the report.

“Despite a year marked by a global pandemic, spiking unemployment, and economic recession, the legal cannabis industry added 77,300 full-time jobs in the United States,” Leafly’s 2021 jobs report says. “That represents 32% year-over-year job growth, an astonishing figure in the worst year for US economic growth since World War II.”

Legalization of marijuana in some form or another is rapidly catching on in most U.S. states. While some states that recently legalized recreational or medicinal use of marijuana added more jobs than Washington in 2020, its industry has continued to grow steadily since 2012, the report says.

Washington’s cannabis sales increased by 17% in 2020, with customers spending $1.42 billion on marijuana products, leading to a boom in employment, the report says. The state has 19,873 cannabis industry jobs, which is 524 more than 2019.

As one of the pioneering states in the sale of recreational marijuana, Washington has the fifth-most cannabis jobs and some of the highest sales number in the U.S., according to the report.

WHY THE SURGE?

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in March, many in the cannabis industry worried about a massive industry-wide shutdown. Instead, governors in most states declared cannabis an essential product. Dispensaries and retail stores responded by offering online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery as Covid-safe options for their customers.

Customers, in turn, responded by stocking up for those weeks of stay-at-home advisories. After a brief dip in late-March revenue, most stores saw a significant bump in April—and then the bump became a plateau.

My opinion? Whether it or not it ends up being a coping mechanism for COVID-19 pandemic, it looks like cannabis has become how many people are making it through.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member face Drug Charges or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Women Are Reportedly Drinking More During COVID Pandemic

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Doctors are seeing a rise in alcoholic liver disease in the last year, especially among people under 40 and especially women.

Excellent article by reporter Yuki Noguchi of NPR describes how cases of alcoholic liver disease — which includes milder fatty liver and the permanent scarring of cirrhosis, as well as alcoholic hepatitis — are up 30% over the last year at the University of Michigan’s health system, says Dr. Jessica Mellinger, a liver specialist there.

More startling, the increase disproportionally impacts young women.

Alcoholic liver disease often takes years to manifest. But it can become a threat for women more quickly because their bodies process alcohol somewhat differently than men’s.

So why the increased drinking? The reasons are clear.

Noguchi reports that women have borne the brunt of many new pressures of pandemic life, from virtual school and increased responsibilities at home, even as ads and pop culture have continued to validate the idea of drinking to cope: Mommy Juice, Rosé All Day, Wine Down Wednesdays. On top of that, eating disorders and underlying trauma from physical or sexual violence often add fuel to the fire, fanned by social isolation.

Just the sheer amount of trauma is really, really tragic,” said psychiatrist Dr. Scott Winder, a clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan who treats patients with alcoholic liver disease.

As stay-at-home orders began in some US states as a mitigation strategy for COVID-19 transmission, Nielsen IQ reported a 54% increase in national sales of alcohol for the week ending March 21, 2020, compared with 1 year before; online sales increased 262% from 2019.1 Three weeks later, the World Health Organization warned that alcohol use during the pandemic may potentially exacerbate health concerns and risk-taking behaviors.

Please contact my office if you a friend or family face alcohol related charges like DUI or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.

Drug Cases Dismissed

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Informative article by Denver Pratt of the Bellingham Herald reports that more that 150 Whatcom County  cases are dismissed due to the WA Supreme Court’s ruling on drug possession cases in State v. Blake.

In my blog titled Unwitting Possession, I discussed how Blake held the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional because — unlike the laws of every other state — it did not require prosecutors to prove someone knowingly or intentionally possessed drugs.

Ms. Pratt reports that under Blake, law enforcement agencies won’t be able to take enforcement action for people engaged in narcotics use or simple possession, according to Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo. Apparently, the ruling also limits investigative and diversion and treatment strategies, Elfo said in an earlier story.

Pratt also reports that as of Friday, March 5, 160 cases have been dismissed in Whatcom County Superior Court, Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey said. Because the decision from the state Supreme Court makes the law unconstitutional, Richey said his office was required to dismiss the cases and to take action quickly.

My opinion? Perhaps we’re realizing that some drug cases should be treated as medical problems and not criminal justice problems. Incarcerating, fining and convicting people of felony drug offenses has not worked. We’ve been fighting the War on Drugs since I was child. However, numerous studies show this “war” is a failure. Maybe it’s time for another approach.

Please contact my office if you, a friend or family member are charged with a Drug Offense or any other crime. Hiring an effective and competent defense attorney is the first and best step toward justice.