Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1146 By Senator Sachs 30-01379-11 20111146__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to drug-related overdoses; providing a 3 short title; creating s. 893.21, F.S.; providing that 4 a person acting in good faith who seeks medical 5 assistance for an individual experiencing a drug 6 related overdose may not be charged, prosecuted, or 7 penalized for specified offenses in certain 8 circumstances; providing that a person who experiences 9 a drug-related overdose and needs medical assistance 10 may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized for 11 specified offenses in certain circumstances; providing 12 that the protections from prosecution for specified 13 offenses are not grounds for suppression of evidence 14 in other prosecutions; amending s. 921.0026, F.S.; 15 amending mitigating circumstances under which a 16 departure from the lowest permissible criminal 17 sentence is reasonably justified to include 18 circumstances in which a defendant was making a good 19 faith effort to obtain or provide medical assistance 20 for an individual experiencing a drug-related 21 overdose; providing an effective date. 22 23 WHEREAS, some research suggests that in a majority of cases 24 of fatal drug overdose another person was aware of or present 25 during the decedent’s fatal drug use and that in one third of 26 the cases someone recognized the decedent’s distress, and 27 WHEREAS, many people cite fear of police involvement or 28 fear of arrest as their primary reason for not seeking immediate 29 help for a person thought to be experiencing a drug overdose, 30 and 31 WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to encourage a person 32 who is aware of or present during another individual’s drug 33 overdose to seek medical assistance for that individual, NOW, 34 THEREFORE, 35 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37 38 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “911 Good Samaritan 39 Act.” 40 Section 2. Section 893.21, Florida Statutes, is created to 41 read: 42 893.21 Drug-related overdoses; medical assistance; immunity 43 from prosecution.— 44 (1) A person acting in good faith who seeks medical 45 assistance for an individual experiencing a drug-related 46 overdose may not be charged, prosecuted, or penalized pursuant 47 to this chapter for possession of a controlled substance if the 48 evidence for possession of a controlled substance was obtained 49 as a result of the person’s seeking medical assistance. 50 (2) A person who experiences a drug-related overdose and is 51 in need of medical assistance may not be charged, prosecuted, or 52 penalized pursuant to this chapter for possession of a 53 controlled substance if the evidence for possession of a 54 controlled substance was obtained as a result of the overdose 55 and the need for medical assistance. 56 (3) Protection in this section from prosecution for 57 possession offenses under this chapter may not be grounds for 58 suppression of evidence in other criminal prosecutions. 59 Section 3. Paragraph (n) is added to subsection (2) of 60 section 921.0026, Florida Statutes, to read: 61 921.0026 Mitigating circumstances.—This section applies to 62 any felony offense, except any capital felony, committed on or 63 after October 1, 1998. 64 (2) Mitigating circumstances under which a departure from 65 the lowest permissible sentence is reasonably justified include, 66 but are not limited to: 67 (n) The defendant was making a good faith effort to obtain 68 or provide medical assistance for an individual experiencing a 69 drug-related overdose. 70 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.