Background: In December 2014, the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services gave their report on overdose prevention to the Virginia General Assembly. One of the recommendations in that report is ” ...in addition to civil immunity, some form of criminal immunity be extended to naloxone rescue situations. This would remove barriers to Lay Rescuers calling 911 who fear that either they or the overdose victim will be criminally charged if illegal drugs are present at the rescue site.”

However, instead of following that recommendation, Virginia legislators introduced bills in the House (HB1500) and Senate (SB892) that merely offer to the witnesses and victim the chance to use an ‘affirmative defense’ during trial for criminal possession of illegal drugs. An affirmative defense means that those involved in the overdose still will be arrested and charged with possession, and it is only during court that they will have the opportunity to claim that there were mitigating circumstances (that they called for medical help).

There is abundant evidence that providing immunity from criminal prosecution save lives by encouraging witnesses to call for medical help, but there is little evidence that the offer of an affirmative defense has any effect on reducing fatalities from overdoses.

The fear of criminal prosecution is what has caused many fatalities from overdose, and it is likely that amending the law with the bills as they are presently written will result in little or no change in the reporting of overdoses or the reduction in overdose fatalities. This petition is to change the bills to where they will become life-saving legislation.

The legislation must encourage people to make the call for medical help.