The city council narrowly rejected a proposal that would give the city attorney the power to prosecute public drug use and possession.

The slim margin suggests there’s a lot of division in the city about how to approach the crisis.

Publicola journalist and editor Erica C. Barnett will tell us how the vote went down and what happens next.

Update notice, Thursday, 6/8/2023: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that the City Attorney rejected the legislation to prosecute public drug use. The Seattle City Council vote not to pass this legislation in a 5-4 vote.

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