SPOKANE, Wash. – Tuesday night, the Spokane Valley City Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that changes the sentencing guidelines for “Endangerment with a controlled substance.”
The ordinance went through several iterations before its approval. The version that passed also expanded the definition of endangerment by applying it to every person.
“We changed dependent person to any other person,” Spokane Valley Deputy City Attorney Tony Beattie said.
While the ordinance still explicitly mentions children, it now includes all adults, widening the net from the previously adopted “dependent adults.”
According to the Washington State Department of Health, two people die of opioid-related overdoses in Washington each day. In Spokane County, there were 314 controlled substance deaths in 2024, with approximately 260 caused by opioids. Young children and the elderly are among the most vulnerable.
In 2023 and 2024, there were 734 drug related ER visits for children and 633 for dependent adults.
Under the new ordinance, minimum sentences will be imposed if an individual is found guilty of “recklessly causing a child or person to ingest, inhale, absorb or have contact with a controlled substance,” according to City Council documents.
The Documents say that for an individual’s first offense, they will be sentenced to at least 90 days in prison and pay a fine of up to $5,000.
For the second offense, they will face a prison sentence of 180 days.
The Spokane City Council says they hope this measure will protect vulnerable groups but acknowledge that the ordinance may have to be adjusted at a later date to be more effective. They will track the impact in order to determine the ordinance’s success.
In the meantime, Councilman Ben Wick says there has been regional interest in adopting a similar policy in other areas of Spokane County.
