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Open fentanyl and drug use in public spaces such as parks, sidewalks, intersections, bus stops, and even on public transit has become one of the top concerns raised daily by Tucson residents and businesses. While state law prohibits possession of controlled substances, those cases are felonies under the jurisdiction of the Pima County Attorney. In practice, some small-scale possession and open drug use often go unprosecuted. This leaves our police officers, businesses, and neighborhoods without an effective tool to respond to visible drug use in our community.
I focus on what we can control. As a student of stoic philosophy, I believe leadership means being clear about where we have authority, being creative about how to use it, and moving forward with solutions rather than waiting for perfect ones. My cybersecurity training taught me to think like a hacker in the best sense. Identify the target, map the obstacles, and find safe, legal, creative paths through the system to achieve the objective. The City cannot prosecute felony drug cases, which will continue to be handled by the Pima County Attorney. What we can do is add another tool by making public drug use a city-level misdemeanor. This does not replace existing laws, it strengthens our ability to respond. A misdemeanor is less severe than a felony conviction, but it gives the City Prosecutor and City Court a way to hold people accountable while also connecting them with treatment and services instead of pushing them deeper into the criminal justice system.
And this is where the path forward becomes clear. We can do this by more intentionally partnering with Pima County on this effort and scaling the work already happening at the Transition Center. This approach is equal parts addressing the very real public safety issues residents experience with visible drug use and equal parts helping the most vulnerable people in our community find their way to treatment. Jail for a misdemeanor charge is costly for taxpayers and ineffective for the person struggling with substance use. It does not make sense to pay to house someone in jail for a day or two only to turn them back out on the street without help. Instead, the Transition Center provides a pathway to treatment, not a pathway to jail, and offers people a real chance at recovery while reducing costs for the community.
Caption: Art on the wall at the Pima County Transition Center
The Pima County Transition Center has already shown strong results. In its first year the Center served more than 1,100 people, with rearrest rates under 10% compared with about 27% for those who did not go through the program. Monthly jail bookings have dropped by about 158 people, and the County has saved roughly $80,000 per month in booking costs. Even more important than the numbers are the lives touched, with people being connected to housing, substance use treatment, basic needs, and peer navigators who help them stay engaged. You can read more in the Transition Center’s first year report from October 2024 here.
Yesterday I toured the Pima County Transition Center and sat down with County staff, Kate Dobler, the State Opioid Treatment Authority for Arizona, Desiree Voshefsky from Community Medical Services, and Kabrina Lee from Palo Verde Behavioral Health. We had a very productive discussion about how the Center operates, its success rates, and how the City and County could collaborate to scale this work. The goal is to ensure that as we consider a city-level misdemeanor ordinance for public drug use, we also build the capacity to connect more people with life-saving resources through the Transition Center and other supportive pathways.
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For too long I was under the impression that there was nothing we could do, that this is where we were stuck and that the obstacles could not be overcome. I have been patient, but my patience has run out, and I know the community’s patience has run out as well. I am no longer willing to accept that we cannot do anything about one of the top challenges raised by residents every single day. Now is the time to be creative, to hack the system, to try something new, and to focus on how we can deliver better results for our city.
Since the materials are not yet online for next week’s meeting, I’ve uploaded my Study Session memo so you can read it here.
I’ll leave you with this…
I recently received a lovely letter from Nicholas, a City of Tucson teammate in our Housing Department. He wears a lot of hats as a case manager, peer support specialist, shower trailer attendant, shelter monitor, and resource navigator. The work that Nicholas and so many of our City, County, and State staff do every day is difficult. They are on the front lines of helping people who are struggling, often in circumstances that can feel overwhelming.
Nicholas included a picture of “The Starfish Story” that you may be familiar with. While we struggle to see progress sometimes due to the high volume of challenges in our community, every person we help matters. And when we’re able to help that one person, it gives us the motivation to keep going.
I look forward to this important discussion with my Council colleagues, our County partners, and with the community on September 23. I wholeheartedly believe we can chart a path forward that balances accountability with compassion and stays true to the spirit and values of Tucsonans.
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