S.L. 2013-23 (S 20). Good Samaritan Law/Naloxone Access

S.L. 2013-23 enacts several provisions intended to encourage individuals to seek help for themselves or others experiencing drug overdoses or alcohol-related medical emergencies. It also establishes the conditions under which a health care provider may prescribe naloxone (an antidote to opiate overdoses) to a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related drug overdose, or to someone who may be in a position to assist such a person.

The legislation enacts G.S. 90-96.2, which provides limited immunity from prosecution for certain drug-related offenses committed by a person who experiences a drug overdose and needs medical assistance, as well as for a person who seeks medical assistance for a person experiencing a drug overdose. The offenses for which immunity may apply include use or possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of certain small amounts of controlled substances. The immunity from prosecution applies only if the evidence was obtained as a result of the need for medical assistance by the person experiencing the overdose, or as a result of the good faith actions of an individual in seeking medical assistance for another person’s overdose.

New G.S. 90-106.2 authorizes a “practitioner” to prescribe naloxone hydrochloride, an opiate antagonist that acts to mitigate the harmful effects of opiate overdoses.  (The term practitioner is defined by the NC Controlled Substances Act to include certain health care providers and facilities that are permitted by law to distribute, dispense, or administer controlled substances. G.S. 90-87(22).) The practitioner may, directly or by standing order, prescribe naloxone to a person at risk of experiencing an opiate-related overdose, or to a family member, friend, or other person who may be in a position to assist a person at such risk. The practitioner must exercise reasonable care and act in good faith. In order to show good faith, the practitioner may require a written statement of the factual basis for the conclusion that the person qualifies for the prescription because he or she is either at personal risk of an opiate overdose, or in a position to assist a person at risk of an opiate overdose. A practitioner who prescribes naloxone pursuant to this new law is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise arise.

The new law also authorizes a person who receives a naloxone prescription because he or she is in a position to assist at-risk persons to administer the naloxone to another person, provided he or she believes in good faith the other person is experiencing an overdose and exercises reasonable care. A person who receives a prescription in order to assist others should receive basic instruction and information in the administration as naloxone in advance, as the statute provides that this constitutes evidence of the use of reasonable care. A person who administers naloxone pursuant to this provision is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise arise.

Finally, the legislation enacts new G.S. 18B-302.2, which provides that a person under the age of 21 who seeks medical assistance for another will not be prosecuted for underage possession or consumption of alcohol, if law enforcement becomes aware of the violation solely because the person sought medical assistance on behalf of another. To qualify for this limited immunity, the underage person must have a reasonable and good-faith belief that he or she was the first to call for assistance, must use his or her own name when contacting authorities, and must remain with the individual who needs the medical assistance until help arrives.