Belltown residents report rampant drug activity despite new SODA law
by Joel Moreno, KOMO News Reporter
Fri, November 8th 2024 at 1:49 PM
SEATTLE — People who live and work in Belltown say drug activity in their neighborhood is as rampant as ever, despite Seattle passing a new law to ban dealers and chronic users from the area.
The Seattle City Council approved the Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) ordinance in mid-September and it went into effect a little more than two weeks ago. Neighbors said they still see police in the area on a regular basis and witness frequent arrests, but the level of fentanyl use seems unchecked.
“Nothing has stopped,” said Rebecca Brook, laughing at the question. “I laugh in irony. There’s nothing funny about someone destroying their body or their mind.”
Sara Beckmann said she and her boyfriend routinely see people using drugs in a lot below their apartment window.
“We’ve seen people OD, and the medics come to revive them. I carry Narcan at all times,” Beckmann said.
In Belltown, the SODA exclusion zone stretches between 2nd and 4th avenues and Blanchard and Battery streets.
SODA orders allow Seattle Municipal Court judges to ban people who are accused of certain types of drug-related crimes from being in these zones. These bans can be imposed as a condition of pretrial release as well as after a person has been convicted of the crime. Returning to that zone could get the person re-arrested and charged with a gross misdemeanor for violating the order.
KOMO News checked on Friday and was told by court officials that judges have not issued any SODA bans against defendants in the slightly more than two weeks that the law has been in effect.
It is unclear how many arrests police have made that would qualify for a SODA recommendation by prosecutors, but a spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said there is at least one pending case where a SODA order is being requested and more are anticipated.
The approval of SODA zones in several neighborhoods throughout the city was highly controversial. Opponents said it would do nothing to help people overcome their addictions and would further criminalize people who are already in vulnerable situations.
“With the mental illness and all the homeless we have here in Seattle, it’s just going to open a new can of worms,” said Jimmy Gourmet. “For people that are trying to help these people get off the street or help these people get off drugs, it’s just going to force them into a penitentiary where they don’t need to be in the first place.”
Another problem neighbors point to is drug dealers who loiter outside Belltown’s social service centers, where people who are trying to get clean go for help.
“They want to sell drugs outside of facilities where people are the most vulnerable,” said Veronica Perez, who gets assistance at a DSHS facility called Belltown Community Services Office.
The SODA ban only applies to misdemeanor offenses, whereas drug dealing is a felony. Perez said something more needs to be done in these situations to help break the cycle of addiction.
“If it’s just presented to you every time you walk out the door, ‘You want to buy something? You want to buy something?’ how are people ever going to get clean and sober,” Perez said.
Beckmann said she struggled with her addictions and was homeless for more than six years, and questions how effective the SODA law will be if it is eventually enforced. She said the city needs more programs that focus on people’s underlying issues that lead to addiction in the first place.
“It’s hard to talk to people who are currently in that situation when one of the aims of being on drugs and alcohol is to numb your feelings,” Beckmann said. “A lot of people don’t know how to ask for help or to access the help that is available.”