Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard

Washington’s program to collect medication so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands has brought in over 1 million pounds of drugs since 2020, according to a state audit.But it’s still beset with some challenges, like a lack of sites to return unused pills in rural areas, a limited sense of the program’s effectiveness and the recent withdrawal of one of the two companies collecting the drugs in the state, according to the report from Washington’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee released this month.

The Justice Department has now lost more than two dozen similar cases across the country.

Washington is again faced with needing a major infusion of cash for legal payouts over government misconduct.

Five high court seats are on the ballot. The races are drawing more attention than usual and attracting large sums of campaign cash.

The camera program will also expand to more locations.

Opponents officially kicked off their campaign this week, with heavy backing from unions and the ACLU. They’re also fighting a related measure on parental rights.

Rural residents are hit hardest, in part because there are fewer private market options available to them.

The incident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview injured nine others.