WESTFIELD – In light of the spike in opioid-related overdose deaths, law enforcement officials want to remind residents about the 911 Good Samaritan laws.
District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni recently stressed the awareness of these laws, which “ensures that those who call 911 to report an overdose for themselves or others will not be charged with the possession or use of opiates.”
The city of Westfield had four people die in 2012 from unintentional opioid overdoses – seven died in 2013 and six in 2014, according to mass.gov, but within the first seven weeks of 2016, three deaths have already occurred – all within a six day period.
In 2007, an average of 12 Massachusetts residents died each week of an opioid-related overdose, which can include heroin, oxycodone or fentanyl, according to Massachusetts Technical Assistance Partnership for Prevention or MassTAPP, an agency that supports communities across the Commonwealth in addressing substance abuse prevention.
In 2014, an average of 22 Massachusetts residents died each week of an opioid-related overdose, according to mass.gov, nearly double from seven years earlier.
Accidental overdose deaths are now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, exceeding motor vehicle accidents among people 25-64 years of age, according to drugpolicy.org, a website of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), advertised as the nation’s leading organization “promoting drug policies that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.”
“One of the major contributing factors to an overdose death is that many witnesses do not call 911 due to fear of police involvement,” according to MassTAPP. “The 911 Good Samaritan law provides protection from drug possession charges when an overdose victim or an overdose witness seeks medical attention.”
MassTAPP notes that this legislation does not protect individuals from being prosecuted for other offenses such as drug trafficking or weapons charges nor protect individuals from charges related to outstanding warrants.
The Drug Policy Alliance reports that 20 states, including Connecticut and Vermont, and the District of Columbia have 911 Good Samaritan laws.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
