SALINAS, Calif. -- A new law called the "9-1-1 Good Samaritan" law is aimed at saving people's lives. It hopes to encourage more people to call 9-1-1 under drug overdose situations without the fear of getting in trouble.
"It has been a problem. We do have spikes sometimes, we end up getting bad drugs in the community," said Commander David Crabill, Salinas Police.
The Center For Disease and Control Prevention said E. R. visits due to overdoses have doubled in the past 5 years to nearly half a million.
"Over 16,000 of those deaths, they were around other people and for the most part they were not called in, until the person had died," said Gordon Horne, Certified Drug Specialist with the Sun Street Center.
Horne said that's because people fear prosecution. But the 9-1-1 Good Samaritan Law can help.
"With the medicine that's available to help prevent these deaths, something needs to be done to encourage people to call in overdoses," said Horne.
"What the immunity covers is immunity for personal possession of a controlled substance," said Commander Crabill.
Commander Crabill said while the motivation of the law has good intentions it can be misleading for drug use.
"That's exactly what its doing, decriminalizing it, in certain situations," said Crabill.
"The argument can be made, what we are looking at is saving lives," said Horne.
Horne said the law has already helped reduce deaths by 50 percent in New York.
