Teresa Mosqueda clarifies her stance on drug use – And gets public backlash as a result
It’s been a busy few days for Seattle Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda who has faced a lot of criticism regarding her stance on drug use in public. In short, she has been accused of being too soft on crime and tone-deaf to the real issues that surround drug abuse.
Today, she clarified her position on Instagram and wrote: “Given my background in public health and my steadfast commitment to addressing root causes of behavioral health and substance use disorder, as well as many Budget Chair, I cannot in good conscience vote for this bill as it doubles down on harmful, ineffective, and costly incarceration to address a public health crisis – with no assurances that there will be significant new funding to provide treatment on demand and diversion strategies instead of jail.”
Despite only being a few hours old, this statement already gained hundreds of comments, with most of them bashing the Councilmember. One user named Wizzroma replied: “It used to be a drug free zone but now it’s a free drugs zone” which had almost as many likes as Mosqueda’s original post. Similarly, another Seattle resident replied with: “The public drug use is so bad that Public transit has fentanyl residue on it, and this is your response?”
Unsurprisingly, Teresa Mosqueda has gained a lot of flak lately. With statements like this, it looks as if those criticisms will only intensify in the coming days.
