BILL REQ. #:  S-0778.1 

Read first time 01/26/09.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to drug overdose prevention; adding a new section to chapter 69.50 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature intends to save lives by increasing timely medical attention to overdose victims through the establishment of limited immunity from prosecution for people who seek medical assistance in an overdose situation. Drug overdose is the second leading cause of injury death in the United States, behind only motor vehicle accidents and ahead of firearms. Overdose mortality rates have increased significantly since the 1990s, according to the centers for disease control and prevention, illegal and prescription drug overdoses killed more than thirty-three thousand people nationwide in 2005, the last year for which firm data are available. The Washington state department of health reports that in 1999, unintentional drug poisoning was responsible for four hundred three deaths in this state; in 2006, the number had increased to seven hundred seven. Many overdose fatalities occur because peers delay or forego calling 911 for fear of arrest or police involvement, which researchers continually identify as the most significant barrier to the ideal first response of calling emergency services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 69.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A person who believes he or she is witnessing a drug-related overdose and seeks medical assistance for the person experiencing the overdose shall not be subject to prosecution for a violation of this chapter, or have property that is not contraband seized or forfeited on the basis of a violation of this chapter, if the evidence of the violation was obtained as a result of seeking medical assistance.
     (2) A person who experiences a drug-related overdose and receives medical assistance in connection therewith shall not be subject to prosecution for a violation of this chapter, or have property that is not contraband seized or forfeited on the basis of a violation of this chapter, if the evidence of the violation was obtained as a result of having received medical assistance.
     (3) This section shall not apply to prosecutions brought pursuant to:
     (a) RCW 69.50.415;
     (b) RCW 69.50.401 for the manufacture of, or possession with the intent to manufacture, controlled substances; and
     (c) RCW 69.50.401 for the delivery of, or possession with intent to deliver, controlled substances where the delivery was, or was intended to be, a sale for profit.
     (4) A court may consider the act of seeking medical assistance for someone experiencing a drug-related overdose as a mitigating circumstance justifying an exceptional sentence below the standard range under RCW 9.94A.535(1).