05 Sep California Drug Overdose Prevention Bill Passes
A bill aimed at saving the lives of drug overdose victims by protecting those who would come to their assistance from prosecution on drug charges passed the California legislature Monday on a bipartisan vote of 54-22 in the Assembly. It had already passed the Senate. The vote came days before International Overdose Awareness Day.
In recent years, Californians have been dying of drug or alcohol overdoses at a rate of ten a day, with the number of fatal overdoses increasing by 24% between 2000 and 2006, according to supporting documentation within the bill.
Introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the bill, Assembly Bill 472, provides that neither the overdose victim nor a person who seeks emergency treatment for him shall be charged with the crime of drug possession or being under the influence of drugs, provided the drugs are for personal use.
Such bills are known as “Good Samaritan” bills and have already been passed nine other states.
In asking his colleagues to vote for the measure, Ammiano noted that more people die from drug overdoses than in car crashes. Fewer would die, he said, if witnesses sought prompt emergency help, but some hesitate for fear of being arrested for their drug use or possession. That argument got through to members of both parties.