Considering about one Long Islander per day fatally overdoses on drugs as the heroin epidemic maintains its grip on LI’s youth, Good Samaritans are all the more crucial. But oftentimes drug addicts are more worried about getting arrested than calling 911 to get help when the witness a friend overdose. Many simply run away.
“Their friends are scared they are going to get in trouble,” said Kevin Smith, 21, of Oakdale, a recovering heroin addict who has been clean for six months after overdosing three times. “I have lost numerous amounts of friends.”
advertisement
To try and reverse this trend, advocates are calling on New York State lawmakers to pass legislation that would protect witnesses to drug and alcohol overdoses from being prosecuted on relatively minor possession charges. The Ronkonkoma-based Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) called on the state Thursday to pass the 911 Good Samaritan bill before more lives are lost.
What’s worse is that the deaths are oftentimes preventable. There is a 1-to-3 hour gap for a victim to receive help after ingestion or injection of drugs.
“There is an incredible window of opportunity for help,” said Jeffrey L. Reynolds, executive director of LICADD, a not-for-profit agency that provides referral services to families and individuals through intervention, education and professional guidance to overcome alcohol and drug addiction.
The legislation was proposed by New York State Sen. Tom Duane (D-Manhattan) and Assemb. Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan). The proposal only applies to low level possession and not to drug sales, trafficking, outstanding warrants or other crimes.
Washington enacted a similar Good Samaritan two weeks ago and New Mexico passed one in 2007. Other states are considering the legislation, including California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. More than 100 colleges and universities nationwide have similar policies in effect.
Several parents who have lost their children to drug overdoses also urged the New York bill’s passage.
“I think it is something we need to pass through,” said Edward Balzer of Mastic Beach as he held a picture of his son Brian, 22, who died of a heroin overdose on Oct. 29. “There are way too many kids being affected.”
Teri Kroll of Copiague, who lost her 23-year-old son, Timothy, in August 2009 after he got hooked on Oxycodone, asked: “How can saving a life be a crime?”
