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Tucson council weighs misdemeanor for public drug use as part of wider homelessness strategy
Summary
Councilmembers debated a possible city ordinance creating a misdemeanor for public drug use to give police a locally trackable tool when felony prosecutions fail, while staff and county partners urged parallel investments in treatment, courts and the Transition Center.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council spent the Sept. 23 study session focused on the city’s response to unsheltered homelessness and the rise in public drug use, weighing whether to draft a city ordinance that would treat public possession or use as a local misdemeanor.
Councilmember Nikki Lee introduced the conversation as an effort to give law enforcement and local courts a tool when felony arrests are unlikely to be prosecuted, saying the goal is to “leverage arrests into treatment, not criminalize addiction.” Chief of Police Chad Casimir told the council that the department made nearly 4,300 narcotics-related arrests year to date and that about 65% of felony cases are not moved forward by prosecutors, a gap that can make local data and accountability…
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