Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy Signs Bill Allowing Good Samaritans To Use Heroin-Overdose Antidote
STAMFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill Tuesday that will make it easier to help someone experiencing a heroin overdose.
As WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reports, Malloy's signature extends the state's Good Samaritan law to first responders and providers of the life-saving drug.
Shawn Lang, the director of public policy at AIDS Connecticut and a member of a statewide overdose prevention panel, said the bill settles the uncertainty in Connecticut over the use of Narcan, which reverses the results of a heroin overdose.
Malloy Signs Bill Allowing Good Samaritans To Use Heroin-Overdose Antidote
"We hope it's going to give prescribers the confidence to write prescriptions and not worry about liability, but also give confidence to family members who might get a prescription to save the life of someone that they love," Lang told Murnane.
"There was an apprehension by first responders to carry Narcan despite its minor, if any, side effects," said state Rep. Tom O'Dea, R-New Canaan, who co-sponsored the legislation. "The efficacy of it is just phenomenal."
Malloy's office announced on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon that the governor had signed the bill into law.
https://twitter.com/GovMalloyOffice/statuses/478970499880321024
https://twitter.com/GovMalloyOffice/statuses/478970818794250240
According to the state medical examiner, 257 people died from heroin overdoses in Connecticut last year, up from 174 in 2012.
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