Democrats are playing a dangerous game with public health by objecting to drug contamination testing in homeless housing. It’s a baffling stance that could keep addicts in toxic conditions. Why? Because they falsely claim there’s no clear evidence that drug contamination is harmful. This head-scratcher of a policy comes as the county uses taxpayer dollars to convert hotels into low-barrier, permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless.
The Snohomish County Council’s Democrat plan is to house the homeless without requiring them to abandon the drugs that caused their homelessness. This approach is rooted in the controversial and failed “housing first” and “harm reduction” models. Both have proven to be more harmful than anything else.
Republican Councilmember Nate Nehring proposed an ordinance to mandate drug contamination testing in the units. It is meant to protect the health of homeless residents in the permanent supportive housing units. After all, meth contamination had already forced the shutdown of four homeless housing properties for decontamination. Nehring’s sensible ordinance could prevent such crises with early intervention by public health officers.
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