City staff propose downtown Alcohol Impact Area and require Naloxone at smoking‑paraphernalia sales in proposed ordinance

City staff presented two related draft ordinances on Jan. 6 to create a Community Health Impact Area (CHIA) for downtown Spokane: an Alcohol Impact Area (AIA) process focused on late‑night alcohol incidents and litter, and a Naloxone distribution ordinance that would require businesses selling smoking paraphernalia in the downtown precinct to offer free naloxone at the point of sale or stop selling those items.

Maggie Yates summarized data showing emergency medical calls for suspected overdoses at downtown Fire Station 1 nearly doubled in recent years, naloxone use before first‑responder arrival is low, and alcohol‑related offenses in the downtown police precinct increased about 60% over the last couple of years. Staff said roughly 30% of alcohol‑related offenses occur between midnight and 2 a.m., while state law already bars alcohol sales…