How Not to Treat Drug Addicts, Exhibit A: One Town's Ugly Effort to Punish Overdose Victims

Ohio is a state with a serious opioid problem. It's tied with neighboring Kentucky for the third-highest overdose death rate in the country, and the state Department of Health reports that fatal overdoses, mostly due to opioids, have jumped eight-fold in the past 15 years, killing more than 3,000 Ohioans in 2015.

In a bid to address the problem, the state passed a 911 Good Samaritan law last year. Such laws, which are also in place in 36 other states, provide limited immunity from prosecution for drug possession offenses for overdose victims and people who seek medical assistance to help them. The idea is to encourage people to seek help for their friends rather than hesitate, perhaps with lethal consequences, out of fear of being busted....
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/ohio-opioid-overdose-outrage-town-ugly-effort-punish-victims