Lawmaker pushes good Samaritan law for overdose cases

Blake Bond wasn’t thinking about the police car that followed him into the Oklahoma City hospital parking lot.

Instead, he dragged his friend inside, screaming that they needed help. His friend had overdosed after using heroin.

Moments later, Bond, 29, realized that police officers were searching his truck. They found needles and a spoon, used to shoot heroin, and arrested Bond.

Bond, who has been in recovery for four years, said when someone overdoses, if they’re at a stranger or acquaintance’s house, it’s likely the homeowner won’t want anyone to call 911, and the person who overdoses would be driven somewhere else, like a convenience store, before anyone calls 911.

“If you’re not really close to someone, the chances are — no one is calling 911 for you,” said Bond, who has lost five friends to overdoses. “They’re probably going to make somebody drag you out and take you somewhere, and that’s 20 or 30 minutes lost, and when you’re overdosing, every second counts.”

The night he got arrested, Bond pleaded his case to a commanding officer who chose to release him. Bond knows how lucky he got that night.

Oklahoma is one of 13 states that has no good Samaritan law that provides immunity for certain drug-related crimes when a person calls 911 or seeks medical help for themselves or someone else, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Sen. A.J. Griffin, R-Guthrie, is hoping to change that.

Under Senate Bill 226, a law enforcement officer would have discretion on whether to arrest someone when that officer responds to an emergency call where someone is overdosing.

“Drug use is a crime, but allowing someone to die a preventable death is also a criminal behavior,” Griffin said. “We don’t want them choosing one over the other.”

Case-by-case basis

To encourage people to seek medical attention for an overdose or for followup care after naloxone has been administered, a total of 37 states — including Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi — and the District of Columbia have enacted some form of a good Samaritan or 911 drug immunity law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Under Griffin’s bill, the officer can choose not to seek charges if a person provides their name and other information the officer requests, remains at the scene with an “individual who reasonably appeared to be in need of medical assistance” because of a drug overdose or other drug-related emergency; and cooperates with emergency medical professionals.

A person would be immune from prosecution “provided the amount of such controlled dangerous substance does not constitute trafficking,” the bill reads.

“Treatment should be our first option, and obviously saving lives needs to be a priority,” Griffin said. “I’ve worked in the prescription drug arena long enough now that I know overdose deaths are all too common in Oklahoma, and any tool we have in our toolbox to save somebody’s life needs to be at our disposal.”

Randy Tate, NorthCare CEO, said he supports Senate Bill 226 because it can and will save lives.

“We want people to do the right thing when people’s’ lives are in danger,” Tate said. “If someone overdoses in a home, even though they were doing something wrong, the harm is only compounded if they’re trying to cover up and hide and worry about arrest. Weneed getting people’s lives secured and safe as the first priority.”

Additionally, drug treatment must become more widely available in Oklahoma, Tate said.

The waiting list for state-funded residential drug treatment is more than 800 people long.