At least in North Carolina died from overdoses in 2022.
Mary O鈥橠onnell knows the pain of having a loved one die in such a situation. She鈥檚 been fighting for years to get overdose numbers down.
In 2017, O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 17-year-old son, Sean, had been drinking with some friends at a quarry near his Chatham County home. His friends, afraid of being caught for underaged drinking, left him behind when he passed out near the quarry鈥檚 edge. At some point, Sean 鈥� alone and impaired 鈥� fell into the quarry and drowned.
Mary O鈥橠onnell thinks that a way to bring down the number of deaths related to alcohol or substance use is to make it easier to call for help. That鈥檚 what she鈥檚 been advocating for since Sean died.
鈥淵oung people do not want to risk getting arrested,鈥� O鈥橠onnell said. 鈥淭hat gets put on their record, and it impacts their ability to get into college, get jobs, etc.鈥�
O鈥橠onnell has been walking the halls of the Legislative Building, talking to lawmakers about , which would strengthen the state鈥檚 Good Samaritan law. The bill would increase legal protections for people who have overdosed, along with protecting the people who are around them.
鈥淚f you're at a scene and somebody makes the call, then we've got to provide them protection,鈥� O鈥橠onnell said.
Currently, only the person who has overdosed and the person who calls for help are shielded from most prosecutions for substance possession. Sometimes even those people find themselves in legal jeopardy. The new bill would provide protection for everyone at a scene from arrest and from prosecution for nonviolent offenses.
Julie Cummins holds a photo of her son Boone, who died of an overdose in the same location as his friend Sean O'Donnell several months after O'Donnell's death. Cummins has also become an advocate for strengthening the state's Good Samaritan laws that make it easier to call for help in the case of an overdose.
鈥淭he North Carolina law is one of the most limited and complex in our country,鈥� O鈥橠onnell told reporters at a news conference at the Legislative Building last week when the bill was introduced.
Deadlier street drugs prompt shifts
鈥淭oo many people are dying needless overdose deaths,鈥� said Sen. Bobby Hanig, (R-Powell鈥檚 Point), a main sponsor of the bill. 鈥淣orth Carolina's Good Samaritan Law was passed in 2013, was done with good intention, but we've learned since that there's some limits or limiting effects to it.鈥�
For one thing, Hanig said, the drug supply has changed. Fentanyl and other potent opioids and tranquilizers are being added more frequently to street drugs.
At 鈥� had fentanyl in their bodies, according to data from the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Once fentanyl is in the mix, it鈥檚 much easier to overdose. Help needs to come fast 鈥� that might be a first responder carrying naloxone, a quick-acting drug that blocks opioid receptors.
While the current Good Samaritan law provides some protection for the person overdosing and the person who makes the call, others on the scene could still be liable for prosecution even if they鈥檙e rendering aid. The prospect of getting in trouble, especially for people on the scene who might be impaired, can lead to inaction.
Too often, no one calls.
鈥淲e need to be able to give a simple message especially to our youth that if an overdose death is happening, we should immediately call 911. Without fear of prosecution,鈥� Hanig said. 鈥淲e need a simple Good Samaritan Law with broad coverage.鈥�
SB 458 would:
- Give everyone at the scene of an overdose protection from arrest and prosecution for nonviolent offenses
- Give immunity for people who possess fentanyl without any carve-outs for certain substances and amounts.
- Make the protections apply for students calling security for an overdose on campus.
Dueling philosophies
Meanwhile this year, the state Senate passed a bill that would that leads to an overdose. The so-called would strengthen a current law to allow prosecutors to charge someone with second-degree murder if they sell drugs to someone who then dies of an overdose. That bill has not been voted on yet in the House of Representatives.
Advocates say such bills dissuade people who use drugs together from calling when there鈥檚 an overdose because often they鈥檝e sold drugs to one another, often to support their own habits.
鈥淭hey're really trying to get the big drug dealers with 鈥榙eath by distribution,鈥欌�� O鈥橠onnell said. 鈥淚t is highly unlikely the big drug dealer is going to be at the scene of a party where people are sharing drugs.鈥�
O鈥橠onnell said supporters of death by distribution laws and supporters of Good Samaritan laws need to work together to find the middle ground.
鈥淲e wanted to introduce 鈥� and it was Senator Hanig鈥檚 perspective as well 鈥� the strongest law that would send a clear message that we don't want anything to stop someone from calling 911. That includes exemption from death by distribution charges,鈥� said Lee Storrow, who works with the .
Storrow, a North Carolinian, has been working to strengthen harm reduction practices throughout Appalachia for the past several years. Harm reduction is an approach to addressing substance use that aims to reduce the negative effects of drug use by providing sterile injection and drug use supplies, testing for hepatitis C and HIV, providing an opioid overdose reversal drug called naloxone and other resources to people in active substance use. The idea is that someone might not be ready to stop using at a given moment, but they might be ready someday.
鈥淚 mean, people need to be alive in order to get their recovery,鈥� said Chandler Picot, who also spoke at the news conference.
Picot has firsthand experience with overdoses, including one where his mother called police when she found him unresponsive in his room. He experienced others that left him near death while he was still using. With the support of his sister, he鈥檚 no longer using any substances and works as a peer support counselor who assists other substance users who are trying to get help.
鈥淧eople need to be able to feel comfortable to call and to share their experience and not feel like they're gonna get in trouble for trying to save someone's life,鈥� Picot said said.
Chandler Picot spent years using different substances, including opioids and prescription drugs. He overdosed several times, including once when his mother found him unresponsive alone in his room and called for help. Picot is now in recovery and works as a peer support specialist, helping other substance users get into recovery.
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
