Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marysville adopts ordinance creating offense for endangering children with controlled substances
Summary
The council adopted ordinance 3,383 to create a local offense for endangering children or dependent adults with a controlled substance, establishing a gross misdemeanor for knowing/intending conduct and a misdemeanor for negligent conduct.
City Attorney Walker introduced ordinance 3,383, explaining it would give municipal prosecutors a specific tool to address cases where children or dependent adults are endangered by access to controlled substances. Walker said current state law emphasizes methamphetamine-related offenses and that the local ordinance would create two tiers: a gross misdemeanor for knowingly or intentionally endangering and a misdemeanor for negligent conduct that is easier to prove.
Walker described recent local incidents that motivated the change, referencing a fentanyl poisoning case in which a child required hospital care. The council asked whether reclassification of substances (for example, medical or recreational marijuana) would affect the ordinance's application; Walker said the ordinance would be applied according to state scheduling should those classifications change. Council moved to adopt the ordinance and it passed.
