The epidemic of fatal drug overdoses throughout the U.S. shows no signs of abating – especially with highly-lethal drugs like fentanyl becoming more prevalent. Thankfully, some scenarios that may potentially result in overdose deaths can be prevented if victims get medical help in time.
Unfortunately, people often don’t call 911 in an overdose scenario because they’re afraid of going to jail for their own drug use or someone else’s. Too often, people die alone of a drug overdose either because everyone flees the scene or because, if they overdose when they’re by themselves, they don’t want to end up in jail.
To encourage more people to seek emergency help, Pennsylvania and other states have enacted overdose immunity laws. These are a type of Good Samaritan law that provide protection from prosecution for a person’s personal drug use if it’s discovered only because they sought emergency aid. Each state’s law varies somewhat in the details. Some offer greater protections than others.
Who qualifies for immunity in Pennsylvania?
The law in Pennsylvania protects people from being charged for offenses that involve a small amount of illegal drugs as well as drug paraphernalia if they’re discovered only because they sought help for an overdose. It also protects people from being penalized if these drugs are a violation of their terms of parole or probation. Note that it doesn’t cover more serious drug-related offenses or other types of crimes discovered at the scene.
To qualify for immunity, a person must seek help “in good faith.” That means they’re not doing it to avoid arrest. For example, if someone informs police already on the scene for another reason that a person in the next room is overdosing, that’s not “in good faith.” Further, when a person calls 911 or takes someone to an emergency room, they must provide their real name. If they’re calling for help, they need to remain at the scene until first responders arrive.
The immunity protections extend to the person who is suffering the overdose. Therefore, people don’t have to worry that they’re going to get a friend arrested if they call for help on someone else’s behalf, either.
The law doesn’t necessarily protect someone from being arrested when they qualify for immunity. In the chaos of an overdose, mistakes happen. Therefore, if you’re facing charges for an offense when you believe you qualify for immunity, it’s smart to get legal guidance as soon as possible.