Sign up to our Talk Platform (create an account here) to get in on the conversation below. Want to join the debate? Subscribe to CentralMaine.com here.
Do you support an expansion of Maine’s Good Samaritan law?
State lawmakers recently passed legislation to expand immunity under the Good Samaritan law to people at a site where law enforcement has been summoned to help someone who is overdosing on drugs. The current law, adopted in 2019, generally provides immunity only to an individual helping and the person who is overdosing.
Gov. Janet Mills has signaled she’ll veto the measure unless lawmakers revisit the changes and narrow the immunity only to those people actually helping someone who is overdosing. Mills thinks the version passed by lawmakers is too broad and would provide immunity to people even if they are doing nothing to help the person who is overdosing.
The proposed law changes come as Maine has seen a surge in drug overdose deaths. The state set a record 636 such deaths in 2021, a 23% increase over 2020.
But what do you think? Do you support an expansion of the Good Samaritan law? If so, do you side with the broad immunity provided under the Legislature’s bill, or do you prefer the narrower focus favored by the governor? Let us know what you think in the poll and comments below.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.