Will Good Samaritan bill save lives or risk them?

COLUMBUS - A life-saver or a recipe for more incarceration?

Ohio lawmakers say their Good Samaritan bill, that is headed to Gov. John Kasich, would save lives by providing immunity for those calling 911 about overdoses.

But national groups say the Good Samaritan bill has been amended to a point where it's actually a "Bad Samaritan" bill.

The proposed legislation would provide immunity from prosecution to "Good Samaritans" who call 911 when their friends overdose on drugs. But an amendment to that bill states that immunity would only be allowed for the first two times someone calls.

Another change would require emergency medical service personnel and firefighters to share with law enforcement the names and addresses of people who receive naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote.

That change has both the Harm Reduction Coalition and the Drug Policy Alliance calling the whole plan a "Bad Samaritan" bill.

"The goal of Good Samaritan laws is to remove actual and perceived barriers to calling 911 and seeking medical help for overdose," said Daniel Raymond, policy director for the New York City-based Harm Reduction Coalition. "This legislation would just create new barriers and dissuade people witnessing an overdose from seeking emergency medical services. Regardless of the intentions, the effects would be dangerous and likely increase overdose deaths."

Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Township, who added the requirement for law enforcement notification, said the goal is to go after serious drug dealers, not minor drug offenders. Law enforcement officials say those who are revived by naloxone can provide useful information about who gave them the drugs. But EMS and firefighters are frequently concerned about violating federal health privacy laws, so they won't provide names of those revived to police.

Senate Democrats, concerned about violating victims' privacy, tried unsuccessfully to strip that portion from the bill.

But Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Clifton Heights, who championed the Good Samaritan bill for years with Rep. Robert Sprague, R-Findlay, isn't too concerned about Seitz's addition. It could lead to more treatment, she said. A pilot program in Colerain Township has social workers and police officers team up to meet with people after they have been revived from an overdose.

“They believe sincerely that they are saving lives by doing this one extra step,” Driehaus said.

Currently 35 states, including Kentucky, and Washington D.C., have Good Samaritan 911 laws. Their goal is to save lives by encouraging people to call in overdoses with no threat of legal consequences. Harm Reduction Coalition research shows that other drug users are among those most likely to witness an overdose, and be able to do something about it.

But national harm reduction groups are concerned that limiting the number of times a person can receive immunity from prosecution and sharing the names and addresses of those who overdose will scare off people who might otherwise call 911 for a friend.

If they are afraid of getting arrested, they are much less likely to call 911. In fact, in 2013, the former Newport fire chief told The Enquirer that firefighters found an overdosed person in the station's driveway, dropped off with no call, no word about his being there.

"We strongly support Good Samaritan laws," said Bill Piper, senior director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, D.C. "We're worried that the Ohio bill is going to do more harm than good and set up a bad precedent."

The proposed law suggests to users that they could end up in a criminal investigation simply for calling for 911, Piper said.

"Mandates and threats of arrest will scare away people," Raymond said. "Better policy encourages people to seek help, and provides on-site peer navigators and recovery specialists in emergency departments to engage overdose survivors and support them in getting help. But if you impose threats of arrest and sanctions on people, you'll never get the chance to help them."

Still, Driehaus sees the legislation as a Good Samaritan bill, not a bad one.

“I know that sometimes we speak in hyperbole in this chamber," she said Tuesday, "We are not hyperbolizing when we say that this bill will save lives. This bill will save lives.”