This Good Deed Should Go Unpunished: We Must Strengthen Our Good Samaritan Laws to Prevent Fatal Overdose

At 22, Julie didn’t know the signs of overdose. Her boyfriend, George, had struggled with addiction after his mother’s death, and he had just swallowed two “anti-anxiety pills” Julie had bought online. His head nodded. He lost consciousness. His lips turned blue.

Julie panicked as George’s physical condition worsened. She dialed 911. Shortly after the paramedics arrived, George was pronounced dead at the scene. Law enforcement officers began questioning Julie about the pills, which were found to contain fentanyl. She was arrested and later charged with homicide.

Although only a hypothetical, any American could find themselves in a similar situation due to the proliferation of counterfeit pills and other unregulated drugs laced with fentanyl, especially through online platforms. However, nearly all states have Good Samaritan laws to encourage people like Julie to call emergency services during an overdose by granting limited criminal liability protections from low-level drug offenses.

Research shows that the implementation of strong Good Samaritan laws that protect against arrest, with naloxone access laws, is associated with lower rates of overdose deaths. This is critical at a time when roughly 110,000 Americans are dying from overdose per year. Stronger Good Samaritan laws could substantially increase the number of witnesses to overdose who call 911, whereas currently only 10%-30% of overdose bystanders typically call for help. Strong implementation of Good Samaritan laws can save thousands of lives.

Yet in many states, Good Samaritan laws are weak—and are challenged by laws that could end up punishing people trying to do the right thing. Out of fear of going to prison over drug-induced homicide or drug delivery resulting in death (DIH/DDRD), many Americans are too afraid to call 911.

Despite Texas having a notably worsening overdose crisis, our state’s Good Samaritan law is failing to encourage all people to try to prevent a fatal overdose. Not only does it not protect witnesses from being arrested, it specifically lacks legal protection for people who have called 911 for an overdose in the previous 18 months, have had a prior conviction for a covered offense, or previously relied on the Good Samaritan defense to be acquitted of a crime.

While Governor Abbot deserves praise for expressing support for reducing harms by decriminalizing fentanyl test strips, he has conversely also championed a new law granting wide prosecutorial discretion for increasing criminal penalties for people who deliver fentanyl that results in deadly overdose. Under laws like this, friends and family members of the deceased – a common source of misused prescription opioids – can be prosecuted for their murder for sharing drugs, which unknown to them were adulterated with fentanyl. The unintended consequence is that these laws have a chilling effect on people reaching out to emergency services to help a person that is overdosing.

We must now focus on making treatment more readily available and building trust for emergency services. We have long been addiction medicine physicians with a keen awareness that we cannot broaden the reach of our treatment if the very persons affected are afraid to ask for help. This especially includes witnesses of an overdose.

This is why Texas and other states should consider the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s public policy recommendations for strengthening Good Samaritan laws. There is also an urgent need for federal lawmakers to enact a federal Good Samaritan law.

If we are committed to reducing deaths from overdose, then we must encourage witnesses to call 911 without hesitation and not force them to weigh the monumental risks they may face while attempting to make urgent, lifesaving decisions. Nor should they be punished for their good deed of trying to save a life.

Dr. Michael Weaver and Dr. Kathryn Rutland are addiction medicine physicians. Dr. Weaver is a member of the Texas Society of Addiction Medicine and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Rutland is president of the Texas Society of Addiction Medicine.  The authors’ opinions are their own and not those of their employers.