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<br />1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />ORDINANCE NO. 4165-26 <br /> <br />An ORDINANCE adopting a new chapter of the Everett Municipal Code relating to Endangerment with <br />a Controlled Substance. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, <br />A. The City of Everett has the power to provide for the punishment of all practices dangerous to <br />public health or safety, and to make necessary for the preservation of public health, peace, and <br />good order, and to provide for the punishment of all persons charged with violating any city <br />ordinance. <br />B. It is a Class B felony under RCW 9A.42.100 to knowingly or intentionally permit dependent <br />children or adults to be exposed to, ingest, inhale, or have contact with methamphetamine or <br />specific ingredients utilized for its production. <br />C. Efforts to amend RCW 9A.42.100 to include the knowing or intentional exposure to fentanyl and <br />other synthetic opioids have repeatedly stalled in the State Legislature. <br />D. The Everett Police Department has investigated thirty-three overdoses involving minor victims <br />since 2019. Over 35% of those investigations (36%) involved children ages 1-31. One was fatal. Of <br />those involving very young children, seven are known to have involved fentanyl, including the <br />fatal exposure. <br />E. Controlled substances come in all forms, and they are regularly made into powders, pills, candies, <br />eye droppers, and nasal sprays. <br />F. Users are unable to discern by sight, taste, or smell just how potent and dangerous these illicit <br />drugs may be due to unregulated sources. The identity, purity, and quantity are uncertain and <br />inconsistent, thus posing significant adverse health risks not only to the user, but also to their <br />family members or members of the public who may be exposed inadvertently or through <br />secondhand contact. <br />G. The Washington State Office of the Family and Children's Ombuds Child Fatalities and Near <br />Fatalities in Washington State 2025 report states that 25% of DCYF-investigated child fatalities, <br />and 66% of near-fatalities, were caused by accidental ingestions and overdoses of controlled <br />substances, with 78% of those combined incidents involving fentanyl2. Fentanyl accounted for 30 <br />of the 38 accidental ingestions by children under 11. <br />H. These risks are particularly high for infants and toddlers who may live in close proximity to and <br />come in contact with controlled substances through no fault of their own. Over half (52.5%) of <br /> <br />1 Accurate as of Feb. 13, 2026. <br />2 Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds (OFCO), 2025 Annual Report (Dec. 2025), <br />https://ofco.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-12/2025%20OFCO%20Annual%20Report.pdf (accessed Feb. 13, <br />2026).