Their sons died from drug overdoses, and now they're pushing for immunity for 911 callers

[Omaha Steve]

CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD
Karen Linder, whose son Alex Allen died from a drug overdose at age 23, wants policymakers and the public to understand that addiction strikes all demographics, regardless of income or education.

http://www.livewellnebraska.com/health/their-sons-died-from-drug-overdoses-and-now-they-re/article_9ea26ef6-64a9-11e5-a076-d76fa0bae838.html

Posted: Sunday, September 27, 2015 12:30 am
By Joe Duggan / World-Herald Bureau

LINCOLN — Two mothers lost sons to addiction.

Now they’re voicing support for legislation in Nebraska and Iowa they believe could help save lives caught in a national epidemic of drug overdose.

Karen Linder of Omaha and Kim Brown of Davenport, Iowa, hope their experiences will help persuade lawmakers to grant immunity from prosecution to those who call 911 during a potential overdose.

“Saving somebody’s life, there’s no price you can put on that,” said Linder, who lost her son to an overdose of prescription painkillers in 2014. “The impact of that is so much greater than the benefit of writing another citation.”

FULL story at link.

[Ilsa]

1. It's the smart, compassionate thing to do,

So I suspect Republicans will say "No".

Addiction treatment could be offered to the caller if they have an addiction as well and if they want to get out of the life.

[brewens]

2. Not the same, but the same logic applies. I live at in a town that has one of the steepest grade

freeways in the country. There are at least five runaway truck escape ramps on it. Now we have signs posted that there will be no fines for truckers using those ramps.

It used to be that if your brakes were failing and you bailed out into one of the ramps, the state cops might write you a citation for faulty equipment or whatever. That ended one day when a guy thought he could make it, took an offramp out of control at a high speed, grinding along the barriers toward the bottom, shot out across four lanes of traffic without hitting anyone and crashed into the state patrol building! I shit you not! That's what it took for them to pull their heads out of their asses!

I'd hate to think anyone would leave an obvious O.D. victim for dead rather than face prosecution. We can avoid that happening by not making them make that choice.

[msongs]

3. seems like the "good samaritan" or "obligation to provide aid" laws would cover this nt

[Heidi]

4. Kick!

[Eleanors38]

5. Good move. WOD: The gift that keeps on giving.