Friday, February 27, 2015

Delaware father hopes legislature passes Good Samaritan bill



State lawmakers are being asked to approve a bill that would provide immunity for those trying to help themselves or others at the scene of a drug overdose.
The bill creating the Alcohol and Drug Overdose Prevention and Clemency Act is in the House of Delegates. Delaware resident David Humes is pushing for the legislation, also called 911 Good Samaritan laws, to save lives in West Virginia after he lost his son three years ago from a drug overdose that could have been prevented.  
Humes’ 24-year-old son Greg died in May 2012. Greg was out with friends and accidently overdosed while using drugs. Instead of calling 911, his friends drove him to a hospital parking lot and abandoned him without alerting anyone. By the time he was discovered, it was too late. Greg’s death was especially hard for David and his wife Gail because someone could’ve saved him.
“You have an opportunity to save a life or you have an opportunity to maybe arrest someone. What’s more important?” Humes said Thursday on “It says who we are as a society, which one of those things we choose to do.”
The detective following Greg’s case informed Humes of the 911 Good Samaritan law, stating his son could’ve possibly been saved. Humes turned those words into actions and is now working towards saving lives in cases like Greg’s by pushing similar laws beyond Delaware.
Humes said the problem with possibly passing the two versions of the bill, including SB 523 and HB 2631, is that alcohol and drug users are not aware of what they can or cannot do in similar situations.
“They don’t have their law books with them. They don’t have the time to sit there and decide ‘Do I meet this criteria or this criteria?’ and so I think we ought to make these immunizations for calling 911 as broad as possible,” Humes said.
Delaware became the 14th state to pass a 911 Good Samaritan law along with 13 other states and the District of Columbia. The vote was to place the importance of saving lives above arrest for minor crimes and to allow a second chance for those struggling with addiction to get better.
Humes said he learned that heroin addicts are ashamed of their use after volunteering at an intensive outpatient group. He said because they feel this way, it does not make sense to avoid calling 911 for help. He said he thinks there are a lot of misconceptions of heroin use.
“The thing in people’s minds is that they’re out partying on this drug, which isn’t true” he said, “Typically it’s two or three gathered together and they decide to chase this high.”
Humes said it can be difficult to try and get the message out on the street level. He said they need more funding to create the awareness by the respective states. Overall, he said he wanted to do something to prevent other parents from traveling down the same path.
If the bill passes, it will have move to the House Judiciary for consideration.