New California Law Shields Overdose Witnesses From Drug-Related Prosecution

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., on April 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Ｗith a number of bills winding their way through the California Legislature, one such measure shielding those who report overdoses from prosecution was signed into law July 21 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, with the legislation’s provisions taking effect Jan. 1, 2024.

The new measure, Senate Bill 250, builds on existing law established with the 2012 passage of Assembly Bill 472—known as the Good Samaritan Law—which provided immunity to witnesses acting in good faith to alert authorities to emergency overdose situations.

“I want to thank Governor Newsom and my legislative colleagues for recognizing the need to enhance our Good Samaritan Law to keep up with today’s environment,” SB 250’s author, Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Orange), said in a press release July 31. “The scourge of synthetic opioids like fentanyl is unlike anything we have ever seen. It’s imperative that every Californian is both made aware of this important provision, and protected by it, as conditions change.”

California state Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) speaks at a Senate Public Safety Committee hearing in Sacramento on April 25, 2023. (Screenshot via California State Senate)

The bill passed both legislative houses and every committee hearing without a single no vote and amends existing laws protecting overdose witnesses from prosecution for being under the influence or in possession of a controlled substance, analogs—synthetic versions of banned narcotics—or paraphernalia by strengthening safeguards for acts made in good faith to save lives.

According to the text of the law, “‘seeking medical assistance’ includes any communication made verbally, in writing, or in the form of data from a health-monitoring device, including, but not limited to, smart watches, for the purpose of obtaining medical assistance.”

Recognizing time is of the essence when responding to overdose victims, the bill is designed to motivate witnesses to immediately report any emergencies by removing fear of arrest.

Such witnesses would be required to provide the substance to public health agencies for testing and notify them of potentially lethal batches, allowing authorities to act on information that could save lives.

Confidentiality is guaranteed, and though prior versions of the bill required the witness to provide details pertaining to the source of the drug, amendments in the Assembly removed such a stipulation.

The law also protects those that test their drugs for fentanyl and report any positive findings to law enforcement.

Its final text described the necessity of such changes to incentivize reporting, declaring that “[i]n order to encourage persons to relinquish controlled substances or controlled substance analogs they suspect may have been adulterated to local public health departments or law enforcement, it is necessary for the identity of these persons to remain confidential.”

Law enforcement officials, mental health advocates, and the California Youth Empowerment Network supported the bill, along with state Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This opioid crisis is a multifaceted public health and safety issue, and addressing this crisis requires a thoughtful and strategic approach,” Mr. Bonta wrote in the bill’s legislative analysis (pdf). “Providing this immunity will encourage reporting to law enforcement, which will assist law enforcement efforts in tracking down dealers and getting fentanyl off the streets.”

Pictures of people who died from a drug overdose line a fence at the Laguna Niguel Skate Park in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Aug. 31, 2020. (Chris Karr/The Epoch Times)

More than 7,000 people died in the state in 2021 from drug overdoses, and nearly 6,000 of those were fentanyl-related, according to the most recent statistics from the California Department of Public Health.

Noting the severity of the crisis, the author urged his colleagues to prioritize fentanyl in future legislative considerations.

“As lawmakers, we have a moral, ethical, and legal obligation to protect lives in California,” Mr. Umberg said in the press release.  “We have lost more people to opioid overdose in the last year alone than the number of U.S. military personnel killed during the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined – we must be taking every possible action to turn this epidemic around.”

While the bill became law, dozens of other fentanyl-related proposals introduced this year were not successful. All but one measure designed to enhance sentencing failed to proceed, as the Public Safety Committees in both houses repeatedly used their authority to deny such bills.

Other bipartisan fentanyl-related bills similarly failed in both public safety committees, with a divide persisting in the Democratic party regarding approaches to criminal justice reform and the need to balance education and prevention with consequential sentencing guidelines.

The passage of SB 250 brings together lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who say that protecting lives is not a partisan issue.

“Together we are tackling this epidemic from all sides to prevent more overdoses and death,” Mr. Umberg wrote July 31 on X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.