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The Canadian government enacted a new law on Thursday that seeks to stem the rising death toll from opioids by allowing bystanders to report overdoses without fear of legal repercussion.
The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act ensures that anyone who calls 911 in case of an overdose, as well as those who are at the scene of the emergency, will be granted immunity from simple drug possession charges, or violations of parole, probation or pre-trial release orders. Other offenses like trafficking or driving while impaired are not exempted.
Liberal Member of Parliament Ron McKinnon introduced the law last year. Lawmakers gave it final approval earlier this week, clearing the way for it to receive royal assent on Thursday.
Canada, like the U.S., has been hit hard by opioids in recent years. The influx of increasingly potent heroin, often cut with synthetics such as fentanyl, led to thousands of deaths in 2016. Although nationwide data is hard to come by due to inconsistent reporting, 931 people fatally overdosed on illicit drugs last year in British Columbia alone, with the vast majority likely related to opioids. British Columbia is often referred to as the heart of the Canadian opioid epidemic.
Drug policy experts note that opioid overdose victims are often with others when they use drugs, and that these bystanders can play a crucial role in preventing fatalities.
Read more here. (The Huffington Post)
The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act ensures that anyone who calls 911 in case of an overdose, as well as those who are at the scene of the emergency, will be granted immunity from simple drug possession charges, or violations of parole, probation or pre-trial release orders. Other offenses like trafficking or driving while impaired are not exempted.
Liberal Member of Parliament Ron McKinnon introduced the law last year. Lawmakers gave it final approval earlier this week, clearing the way for it to receive royal assent on Thursday.
Canada, like the U.S., has been hit hard by opioids in recent years. The influx of increasingly potent heroin, often cut with synthetics such as fentanyl, led to thousands of deaths in 2016. Although nationwide data is hard to come by due to inconsistent reporting, 931 people fatally overdosed on illicit drugs last year in British Columbia alone, with the vast majority likely related to opioids. British Columbia is often referred to as the heart of the Canadian opioid epidemic.
Drug policy experts note that opioid overdose victims are often with others when they use drugs, and that these bystanders can play a crucial role in preventing fatalities.
Read more here. (The Huffington Post)
