California’s overdose Good Samaritan law, Health and Safety Code section 11376.5, makes two things not a crime when medical help is sought in good faith for a drug overdose: being under the influence of a controlled substance, and possessing a controlled substance, analog, or drug paraphernalia for personal use. It protects both the person who seeks help and the person who overdosed, under slightly different conditions. It does not cover selling or giving away drugs, forcibly drugging someone, or offenses such as DUI and reckless driving.

Who is protected, and on what conditions

The person who seeks help. Under Health and Safety Code section 11376.5(a)(1), it is not a crime for you to be under the influence of, or to possess for personal use, a controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or drug paraphernalia if all three of these are true:

  • you, in good faith, seek medical assistance for another person experiencing a drug-related overdose;
  • the overdose is one “that is related to the possession of a controlled substance, controlled substance analog, or drug paraphernalia of the person seeking medical assistance”; and
  • you do “not obstruct medical or law enforcement personnel.”

The person who overdosed. Section 11376.5(a)(2) gives the same protection to a person who experiences a drug-related overdose and is in need of medical assistance, if that person, or “one or more other persons at the scene of the overdose,” seek medical assistance for them in good faith. The text of this paragraph does not repeat the other two conditions in (a)(1).

What counts as an overdose and as seeking help. Under subdivision (d), a drug-related overdose is an acute medical condition caused by one or more controlled substances, alone or combined with alcohol, taken in quantities excessive for that person, that may result in death, disability, or serious injury. A condition is also treated as one if “a reasonable person of ordinary knowledge” would believe it was a drug-related overdose that may result in death, disability, or serious injury. Seeking medical assistance includes a communication made verbally, in writing, or as data from a health-monitoring device such as a smart watch.

What the protection covers, and nothing more

The protection reaches only those two kinds of conduct: being under the influence, and possession for personal use. Both paragraphs end with the same limit: “No other immunities or protections from arrest or prosecution for violations of the law are intended or may be inferred.” Possessing drugs for sale, or any other offense, is outside it.

What it expressly leaves in place

Selling, sharing, or forcibly drugging. Section 11376.5(b) states that the law does not affect laws prohibiting “the selling, providing, giving, or exchanging of drugs,” or laws prohibiting “the forcible administration of drugs against a person’s will.” Calling for help does not protect someone who supplied the drugs, and it does not protect someone accused of forcibly drugging another person.

Dangerous activities after using drugs, including driving. Section 11376.5(c) preserves liability for any offense involving “activities made dangerous by the consumption of a controlled substance,” and says this includes, but is not limited to:

  • reckless driving under Vehicle Code section 23103 “as specified in” section 23103.5, the section on reckless-driving pleas entered in place of a DUI charge;
  • driving under the influence under section 23152, which includes driving under the influence of any drug in subdivision (f); and
  • DUI causing bodily injury to another person under section 23153.

So if someone drove before the overdose, the 911 call does not affect a DUI or reckless-driving case arising from that driving, for the caller or for the person who overdosed.

Facts that decide whether it applies

Because the protection turns on specific conditions, the details of the call and the scene matter: who sought help, whether the emergency involved a controlled substance, whether the drugs or paraphernalia were for personal use, and, for the caller, how the overdose related to the caller’s own possession and what happened when responders arrived. A 911 recording, dispatch records, and responders’ reports can show those facts.

If you were charged after seeking help

Whether this law applies depends on the charge and on how the conditions above fit what happened. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley’s opioid charges team can compare the police report and the charging documents with the statute’s actual terms. Call (800) 755-5174 to talk about your situation.