NEW "911 GOOD SAMARITAN LAW" PREVENTS DRUG OVERDOSES BY SHIELDING ARRESTS WHEN CALLING FOR MEDICAL HELP IN FLORIDA

One of the tragedies of America's unforgiving war on drugs is the large number of young people killed because of an overdose. Clearwater Criminal Lawyers find that the harsh Florida drug laws and even harsher Florida drug sentencing not only corrupt prosecutors but contribute to a fear of punishment that pushes otherwise law abiding citizens toward making foolish choices. 

Van Gogh, The Good Samaritan

Tragically the reasonable fear of arrest and prosecution for possession of drugs often makes even good people make the mistake of not calling for an ambulance immediately even when timely medical intervention could save a friend's life from a drug overdose. Often precious time is wasted in an effort to 'clean up' the area where the drugs were ingested, before calling 911.

Florida has failed to follow a reasonable path toward the decriminalize some drugs, but Florida has responded to the fear of drug arrests during an overdose with the 911 Good Samaritan Law. Here is an excerpt from the law which became effective law in Florida as of today, October 1, 2012:

"911 Good Samaritan Act;" providing that a person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related overdose may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized for specified offenses in certain circumstances; providing that a person who experiences a drug-related overdose and needs medical assistance may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized for specified offenses in certain circumstances; providing that the protections from prosecution for specified offenses are not grounds for suppression of evidence in other prosecutions; amending mitigating circumstances under which a departure from the lowest permissible criminal sentence is reasonably justified to include circumstances in which a defendant was making a good faith effort to obtain or provide medical assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related overdose, etc.

The Florida law protects from drug arrest and drug prosecution those making 911 calls to help someone who may have overdosed. The hope is that drug abusers will look out for each other rather than fear arrest without requiring the services of any Clearwater Criminal Defense Attorneys to invoke the protections and rights of the new 911 Good Samaritan Law.