Attack Addiction, a nonprofit that fights addiction, has placed billboards on 42 DART buses to raise awareness about Delaware’s new Good Samaritan law that protects people from being arrested for drug crimes if they call 911 to save someone during an overdose.
The billboards went up across the state last month, and will be posted on buses until at least the end of the year, including DART’s Beach Express buses.
“Our message is simple: You won’t be arrested when reporting an overdose,” Attack Addiction board member Bob Procopio said. “Be a hero. Make the call.”
The Good Samaritan law, passed in 2013, grants people who report overdoses from drugs or alcohol immunity from prosecution from certain drug crimes and from offenses related to underage drinking – even if the caller was involved in those types of activities.
“We lose a Delawarean every other day to death by accidental overdose,” said David Humes, another board member. “The law does no good if our community is not aware of how it serves help those in need.”
