A proposed ordinance that would criminalize “drug-related loitering” in certain public spaces in Tucson is, for the time being, off the table.
Ward 4 council member Nikki Lee introduced the draft ordinance in November, part of a larger effort by Tucson officials to address visible social issues like addiction and homelessness. Lee planned to spend 60 days refining it while continuing to explore other ways to address public drug use.
On Friday, she confirmed to AZPM News that, for now, her proposal is off the table.
“There are a few possible options that still exist, that we really want to be able to explore, before having to go down the path of creating our own misdemeanor ordinance,” Lee said.
Her proposal would have created a misdemeanor offense for a broad range of possibly drug-related behaviors in parks, streets, washes and the transit system. It would have let police officers order people engaging in those behaviors to leave, and arrest them if they ignored the order. Under the ordinance, repeat arrests carried a minimum five-day jail sentence, but officers could bring people to drug treatment before making an arrest. If the ordinance were adopted, Lee said Friday that repeat offenders would likely be referred to the Pima County Transition Center multiple times before being sent to jail.
“The proposal that I put on the table was to nudge people on a path of treatment,” she said.
Lee’s ordinance got a positive response from the Tucson City Council during its initial introduction in November.
“I fully support this,” said Mayor Regina Romero at the time.
But on Friday, Lee said enforcing the law would have strained city resources. She said it would have required hiring a new judge at Tucson City Court. Meanwhile, the Tucson Police Department faces staffing shortages while public drug use remains common across Tucson.
“I am optimistic that there are a few potential things that we can try before we have to get to the point of putting all of this work on the laps of city court,” Lee said.
She said the Tucson Police Department will release a memo in the coming days explaining steps it will take in place of the ordinance. She did not specify the steps, but said she wants to make sure police are bringing “the best cases over to the county attorney’s office as possible.”
Though possession of illegal drugs is already a state felony, many drug cases brought by Tucson police to the county attorney are never prosecuted. Lee’s ordinance would have let the city bring offenders — even those without drugs on them — to the lower-level city court.
“Ideally, I would like for (drug use) to be handled in the county, where it should be handled,” she said.
If that doesn’t happen, Lee said bringing her ordinance back for discussion is “still an option.”
“I don’t think that it is humane of us to allow people to continue to suffer out on the streets,” she said.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a question about its talks with the city about the ordinance.
