An Update on North Carolina's Good Samaritan Harm Reduction Law

In an earlier blog post, I summarized North Carolina’s harm reduction immunity laws, including our safe syringe exchange law, G.S. 90-113.27, our Good Samaritan law, G.S. 90-96.2, and others.  North Carolina first adopted the Good Samaritan law in 2013. Since then, the General Assembly broadened the scope of the law, and we have a new appellate case discussing when the law applies. As practitioners may know, the Good Samaritan law can provide limited immunity from prosecution for a person calling to report a drug overdose and the person overdosing. This post lays out the current state of the Good Samaritan law and offers advice for defenders on how to litigate and preserve arguments under the statute. Good Samaritan Law Basics. Under G.S. 90-96.2(b) and (c3), a person calling to report a drug-related overdose is immune from prosecution for possession of any misdemeanor-level controlled substance, possession of any felony-level controlled substance involving less than 1 gram, and for possession of any drug paraphernalia when certain conditions are met. To be entitled to the immunity, the caller must meet all of the following requirements: The caller must seek medical attention for a person experiencing a drug-related overdose by calling 911, law enforcement, or emergency medical services The caller must be acting in good faith when seeking medical help, reasonably believing that they are the first person to call for help The caller must provide their name to 911 or to law enforcement upon their arrival The call for assistance must not occur during [...]