Save a life, and get jail?

There isn’t a lot upon which most of us agree. Some say there is nothing.

But how about this? Can we agree that a person who tries to save another person’s life should not go to jail?

There is a bill under consideration at the Legislature that has been passed in some version by 30 other states. It goes under the name of something like the “911/Good Samaritan” act.

It’s simple, really. Thousands of people die each year from drug overdoses. Too many of the deaths occur in Arizona, where (like other states) there is an opioid abuse epidemic.

Most emergency responders carry a drug called Naloxone, which can temporarily counteract the effects of drug overdose. But it doesn’t work unless they get the call quickly and can take the person in crisis to a hospital. That’s where the problem exists. If one of us were to come upon a medical emergency, say, a person having a heart attack, we’d immediately get on our phone and call 911.

But would we be quick to do so if it could mean going to jail? In drug overdose cases the closest person to the individual in crisis might be another drug user. That’s where the Good Samaritan law comes in.

House Bill 2033, says simply this:

A. A person who, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug related overdose may not be charged with or prosecuted for the possession or use of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia if the evidence for the violation was gained as a result of the seeking of medical assistance.

B. A person who experiences a drug related overdose and who is in need of medical assistance may not be charged or prosecuted for the possession or use of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia if the evidence for the violation was gained as a result of the overdose and the need for medical assistance.

Similar bills have been introduced a couple of times at the Legislature but have not passed. Either because the Republicans who control the Legislature don’t care if drug users die. Or if those assisting drug users go to jail. Or because previous bills were introduced by Democrats and those in control simply won’t support anything proposed by Democrats.

This year’s version was introduced by Republican Rep. Jay Lawrence.

I’ve spoken about this over the past couple of years with Janice Morrison, who runs a support group for families dealing with addiction. Her own son has had such problems, and now, like her, works to help others.

“Hopefully, this year, the bill will pass,” she told me. “We have to keep trying because we know this law saves lives. I know too many parents and husbands and wives and daughters and sons who have lost someone. This will save people. We need to give them a chance. The governor said the opioid crisis is one of his top priorities. This would be one way to help that, don’t you think?”

I agree. And I’d like to believe that at lease on this one thing — saving lives — we all could agree.

Or at least most of us.