Deaths from illegal drug use – particularly from opioid abuse – are a global problem, and New Zealand is far from immune. Roughly three New Zealanders die from accidental overdoses every week – that’s 1,295 people since 2016.

Some of those lives might potentially have been saved, however, had help arrived sooner – and people were less afraid to dial 111 in a drug emergency.

That’s the reasoning behind Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s “Good Samaritan” member’s bill, which has just finished hearings before the Health Select Committee.

The Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill would prevent low-level drug prosecutions when people seek help (for themselves or others) for an overdose or acute reaction to illicit or prescribed drugs.

Police could not charge people at the scene after an ambulance had been called, and would not have grounds to search for evidence (although drug dealers would not be protected).

The bill mirrors similar laws now in place in Canada, large parts of the United States and parts of Australia. But it does not have unanimous backing in the New Zealand parliament, with National and........

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