Ohio’s well-publicized heroin and opiate problems have not gone away, and may get worse before they get better. Yet, much has been done to try to break the cycle. …

About half of 13 separate bills that were introduced to address some aspect of the epidemic have moved forward.

Unfortunately, the one bill that could have done more than many to reduce the number of overdose deaths never made it out of the House Judiciary Committee. That’s a shame. …

The bill encourages calling 911 to seek medical assistance for yourself or someone experiencing an overdose by providing criminal immunity for both the person in need and the person who sought help. The immunity provided is generally limited to low-level drug crimes, and does not provide protection from more serious offenses such as manufacturing, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. …

The bill’s sponsor, House Rep. Robert Sprague, R-Findlay, said … he will reintroduce it next year with revised language that would better differentiate between those who are addicts and those who are dealing the drugs that can kill. …

Separating addicts from traffickers is never going to be easy and is best left to investigators, but prosecutions should never be more important than saving a life. …

 

The (Findlay) Courier