Lawmaker wants to make smoking meth, fentanyl around others in public a crime

OLYMPIA, Wash. — If you see people doing drugs on buses and trains and worry about the smoke, a state lawmaker is behind a bill that would make smoking drugs around others in public illegal.

House Bill 2002 would outlaw exposing people to smoke from fentanyl and methamphetamine in public spaces.

The bill is sponsored by Republican Rep. Sam Low from Lake Stevens.

If the bill is voted into law, it would make it a gross misdemeanor to knowingly or intentionally exhale fentanyl or methamphetamine smoke in a public space within 10 feet of another person or inside an enclosed public space with another person.

A public space includes such locations as public transit, bus or train stops, hospitals or health care facilities, or any other place open to the public.

If a child under 13 is exposed to drug fumes in a public space, it would be a felony.

The new legislative session begins Jan. 8.

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