Bills to Watch
NCADD-Maryland tracks the legislature and creates a list of all bills that could impact our community with regard to Addiction Treatment or Prevention. Our list helps our collaborators and community understand new legislation within in our state and partake in their debate and approval.
The next legislative session starts January 11th 2023 but we already have some information in our current list of Bills to Watch.
In 2014, Maryland enacted a Good Samaritan Law to encourage people to call for help when someone is facing a medical emergency due to drugs or alcohol. While well intended, this law is limited in scope and the threat of criminal penalties continues to instill fear in individuals at the scene of an overdose, hindering them from calling for help. The subsequent rise in overdose deaths in the years that followed is proof positive that the 2014 law did not go far enough. It’s clear more action must be taken to curb this devastating overdose epidemic.
Good Samaritan laws have been proven to save lives. Maryland is one of 47 other states and the District of Columbia that have enacted some form of a Good Samaritan or 9-1-1 drug immunity law. A 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found a nationwide pattern of loer opioid-related overdose death rates among states that have enacted Good Samaritan laws, both compared to death rates prior to a law’s enactment and death rates in states without such laws. Studies also found that people are more likely to call 911 if they are aware of the laws.
