Being with someone when they appear to suffer a drug overdose can be very frightening. Some people’s first instinct is to leave the scene rather than call 911 to get emergency help because they don’t want the police or other first responders to know their identity or find them with illegal drugs when they arrive. Even if they aren’t using drugs, they may not want the overdose victim to be arrested.
Too many people have suffered fatal overdoses who could have been saved if they had received emergency care. That’s why states, including Florida, have “Good Samaritan” or “overdose immunity” laws that protect people from being charged with relatively minor drug offenses if they get help for someone else or if they or someone else calls for help.
Each state’s law is unique. Here we’ll take a brief look at Florida’s law.
What does Florida law say?
Florida law, officially called the 911 Good Samaritan Act, states that anyone “acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing, or believed to be experiencing, an alcohol-related or a drug-related overdose” will not be “arrested, charged, prosecuted, or penalized” for offenses involving drug and drug paraphernalia use or possession or for exposing first responders to fentanyl. The immunity also applies to underage alcohol offenses.
The same immunity is extended to anyone who “experiences, or has a good faith belief that he or she is experiencing, an alcohol-related or a drug-related overdose and is in need of medical assistance.” That applies whether someone else gets help for them or they seek emergency help for themselves. The law also provides immunity from penalties for violating any terms of probation or parole related to drug or alcohol possession.
This immunity applies only if evidence of one of these offenses or violations is “obtained as a result of the person’s seeking medical assistance.” It doesn’t apply to other types of offenses, like theft, illegal weapons, violent crimes or more serious drug crimes like trafficking. The law “may not be grounds for suppression of evidence in other criminal prosecutions.”
It also doesn’t apply if a person wasn’t “acting in good faith.” For example, it wouldn’t apply if a person alerted police that someone was overdosing as they were being investigated or arrested to avoid arrest.
No law always works as it’s intended to in real life. That’s why those who believe they were mistakenly arrested and charged should always get legal guidance as quickly as possible.