Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

x close
The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

The Budget and the Drug War

News   November 30, 2009 at 3:07 pm Josh Feit

Last week, we gave a PubliCola “Comment of the Day” to a reader who suggested that one way to deal with the budget crisis in Olympia—a $2.6 billion shortfall—would be to stop incarcerating low-level drug offenders.

Intrigued by what sounded like a common-sense idea, we put out calls last week to see how much it would actually save. In the meantime we did an estimate based on the fiscal note from last session’s marijuana decrim bill, which would have decreased marijuana arrests. Savings on that: About $1.2 million.

Well, today we’ve got some solid numbers. State Rep. Roger Goodman (D-45, Kirkland)—a drug reform advocate, and vice chair of the Judiciary Committee and member of the Public Safety Committee (both committees oversee criminal justice legislation)—says the state spends between $110-120 million on incarceration of low-level drug offenders, crack and heroin addicts who get caught up in dealing.

Goodman crunched the numbers for his previous work at the King County Bar Association drug reform task force and as a member of the sentencing guidelines commission.

The  state Department of Corrections budget is $1.8 billion; DOC is checking Rep. Goodman’s estimates.


  • Fat-tailed

    I suspect that yesterday’s police shooting is going to put a damper on any early-release programs of any kind at the state level. (Not that it’s directly relevant, but emotionally it will be seen that way, I suspect.)

  • Fat-tailed

    I suspect that yesterday’s police shooting is going to put a damper on any early-release programs of any kind at the state level. (Not that it’s directly relevant, but emotionally it will be seen that way, I suspect.)

  • http://www.tobynixon.com/ Toby Nixon

    You can’t stop the calculation at just the savings on incarceration. Consider the young people who are blocked from getting student loans because of drug possession convictions, who spend the rest of their lives in jobs below their level of capability and productivity; who can’t get housing, who end up on public assistance, etc., because they used a drug that is far less dangerous (from a medical standpoint) than alcohol. Consider all the money spent on drug law enforcement other than incarceration. Think of all the collateral damage from drug prohibition — the turf wars among drug dealers, gangs, and organizations. Think of the intrusion on our personal liberties — limitations on cash transfers, no-knock warrants, having to provide photo ID to get cold medicine, aircraft surveillance for heat signatures, etc. Think of the impact of ridiculous civil asset forfeiture laws on innocent property owners. Think of the waste of natural resources and the environmental impacts because we’re restricted from using hemp for all of its various uses and forced to use trees or other less appropriate alternatives. Think of the environmental impacts and danger to visitors because marijuana ends up being cultivated on public land instead of on private farmland. Think of the danger to our families because drugs are being manufacturered in private homes instead of industrial areas. I could go on and on.

    The cost to society of drug prohibition is far more than just the cost of incarceration, and many of these costs do impact on government budgets, directly or indirectly.

  • http://www.tobynixon.com Toby Nixon

    You can’t stop the calculation at just the savings on incarceration. Consider the young people who are blocked from getting student loans because of drug possession convictions, who spend the rest of their lives in jobs below their level of capability and productivity; who can’t get housing, who end up on public assistance, etc., because they used a drug that is far less dangerous (from a medical standpoint) than alcohol. Consider all the money spent on drug law enforcement other than incarceration. Think of all the collateral damage from drug prohibition — the turf wars among drug dealers, gangs, and organizations. Think of the intrusion on our personal liberties — limitations on cash transfers, no-knock warrants, having to provide photo ID to get cold medicine, aircraft surveillance for heat signatures, etc. Think of the impact of ridiculous civil asset forfeiture laws on innocent property owners. Think of the waste of natural resources and the environmental impacts because we’re restricted from using hemp for all of its various uses and forced to use trees or other less appropriate alternatives. Think of the environmental impacts and danger to visitors because marijuana ends up being cultivated on public land instead of on private farmland. Think of the danger to our families because drugs are being manufacturered in private homes instead of industrial areas. I could go on and on.

    The cost to society of drug prohibition is far more than just the cost of incarceration, and many of these costs do impact on government budgets, directly or indirectly.

  • Good Work

    Good work Josh and follow-up libertarian points by Toby. I actually think the discussion needs to be taken a step further. We shouldn’t be talking only about money saved, but about the new revenue stream for the state. We already have 100s of state-run stores for a controlled substance, why not include pot as well?

    When marijuana becomes legal, it would be a mistake just to decriminalize possession as it would only make criminals (dealers, smugglers, organized crime) even richer. It must be taxed, regulated, and out in the open. The infrastructure of pot products already exists, just look at California. If you’re thinking that the Feds might intervene, you’re wrong. It’s unlikely that Obama’s administration would overrule the will of the people of Washington as they’ve already indicated that this is a state’s rights issue.

    I hope the electeds in Oly can be courageous on this issue, especially when framed and a revenue source (like gambling), but I bet it’s going to take an initiative to legalize (and regulate) it. Marijuana revenue should also be tied to funding something everyone supports–like policing or higher ed–to help it pass.

    It would be great to have a Publicola story on the groups working today towards that end. 2012 (with Obama on the ballot) is the year to make it happen!

  • Good Work

    Good work Josh and follow-up libertarian points by Toby. I actually think the discussion needs to be taken a step further. We shouldn’t be talking only about money saved, but about the new revenue stream for the state. We already have 100s of state-run stores for a controlled substance, why not include pot as well?

    When marijuana becomes legal, it would be a mistake just to decriminalize possession as it would only make criminals (dealers, smugglers, organized crime) even richer. It must be taxed, regulated, and out in the open. The infrastructure of pot products already exists, just look at California. If you’re thinking that the Feds might intervene, you’re wrong. It’s unlikely that Obama’s administration would overrule the will of the people of Washington as they’ve already indicated that this is a state’s rights issue.

    I hope the electeds in Oly can be courageous on this issue, especially when framed and a revenue source (like gambling), but I bet it’s going to take an initiative to legalize (and regulate) it. Marijuana revenue should also be tied to funding something everyone supports–like policing or higher ed–to help it pass.

    It would be great to have a Publicola story on the groups working today towards that end. 2012 (with Obama on the ballot) is the year to make it happen!