General Assembly passes bill extending legal protections in circumstances of overdose

Opponents, including Rappahannock’s representatives, wanted compulsory treatment

In February, the Virginia General Assembly passed the bipartisan Good Samaritan & Drug Overdose Safe Harbor Bill, which extends legal protections to citizens in order to prevent overdose deaths.

HB 1821, sponsored by Del. David Bulova, D-37th, and approved by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, expands a legislation initially enacted in 2015. The original law provided an affirmative defense for those who sought or obtained “emergency medical attention a) for himself, if he is experiencing an overdose, or b) for another individual, if such other individual is experiencing an overdose.” But the phrasing of the law left other individuals present at the scene vulnerable to prosecution.

Under the new law, individuals rendering aid at the scene will now be protected, in addition to the individual experiencing an overdose and the individual seeking medical attention. “Rendering aid” refers to performing CPR or administering Naloxone, the medication used to treat narcotic overdoses in emergency situations. At its core, HB 1821 is a bill that seeks to prevent Virginians from dying of drug overdoses.

As reported in the 2019 Virginia Uniform Crime Report, drug/narcotic violations are by far the most common Group A (most serious) offense in Rappahannock County, with 46 cases reported and 36 arrests made that year. And while the number of offenses have remained high, overdose deaths have fallen since the Good Samaritan law was enacted six years ago. The years 2015 and 2016 saw two deaths per year in the county, but 2017 and 2018 saw none.

The annual Crime in Virginia report has yet to be released with updated 2020 data, but public health experts warn that the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in substance abuse and addiction.

“This is one of those bills you can put in and it will hopefully save a person’s life,” Bulova said. The bill was brought to his attention by Shawn Weneta, the Legislative Liaison for the Humanization Project. From the attorney general’s office to Justice Forward Virginia to Americans for Prosperity, many groups across the political spectrum backed the legislation.

The Good Samaritan law has already seen amendments in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, a stipulation requiring that individuals “substantially cooperate in any investigation of any criminal offense reasonably related to the controlled substance, alcohol, or combination of such substances that resulted in the overdose” was removed. In 2020, a clause was added preventing law enforcement from being found “liable for false arrest if it is later determined that the person arrested was immune from prosecution under this section.”

However, the 2021 amendment still met some resistance — in the House, 13 delegates voted against it, as did eight members of the Senate. Those opposed included both of Rappahannock’s representatives to the General Assembly, Del. Michael Webert, R-18th, and Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-26th. Their opposition may have stemmed from the fact that the bill lacks a compulsory treatment requirement. Though individuals who have experienced an overdose are protected from prosecution, the

‘We are making the immediate decision that the priority when you are overdosing is to get medical help — not to get arrested.’

measure contains no mandate to receive substance abuse treatment or counseling.

“It’s not perfect,” conceded Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-4th, who supported the bill. “If people are addicted, some of them are going to make the choice to continue to use. But this does give the opportunity to save those individuals’ lives, and hopefully that will be enough for them to get into a program. … But we are making the immediate decision that the priority when you are overdosing is to get medical help — not to get arrested.”

As the new law enters its early days in action (it officially went into effect March 1), awareness becomes key.

“In the written comments on the bill, there were a dozen families that said ‘if this bill had existed when my son or daughter overdosed they might still be alive.’ Because [without protection], people cleaned up the scene or just abandoned [victims of overdoses],” Weneta said. “This allows people to call 911, to render aid, to get help and save a person’s life now.”