Bill protects people trained in giving opioid overdose prevention drug

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine was among the senators who introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to protect people who are trained in administering an opioid overdose prevention drug from potential lawsuits or liability for attempting to save a life.

Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, visited Lebanon in August to attend a two-hour training session for administering naloxone in an overdose emergency.

He said opioid abuse has become an “epidemic that poses significant economic and public health challenges” across the state.

“I’m proud to introduce this legislation to protect ‘Good Samaritans’ who administer opioid overdose drugs to those whose lives may be in danger,” Kaine said in a statement released Wednesday. “Last summer, I participated in a Project REVIVE training session in Lebanon to learn how to administer the lifesaving drug naloxone, and heard first-hand how opioid overdose programs can be critical to preventing drug-related deaths. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation and I look forward to continue working with state and federal officials to combat drug abuse.”

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat, and Kally Ayotte, a Republican, also introduced the Opioid Overdose Reduction Act with Kaine. Rep. Richard Neal, a Republican from Massachusetts, is expected to introduce similar legislation in the House of Representatives, the statement said.

The overdose drugs, like the nasal spray naloxone, are designed to prevent an overdose on an opioid like hydrocodone, heroin or oxycodone. Naloxone blocks the opioid from sitting on the receptor in the brain, and helps people start breathing again, if they’ve stopped. It also makes them undergo withdrawal symptoms almost immediately.

Southwest Virginia and metro Richmond are part of a pilot program — Project REVIVE! — overseen by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. More training is set for this spring, according to the REVIVE! website.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said a policy like that introduced by Kaine will save lives and give more Americans a chance to access treatment to beat drug addiction.

The law would exempt certain people from civil liability, including volunteers at an opioid overdose program, health care professionals, first-responders and firefighters and others who’ve been educated in administering the drug.

“No one should be afraid to save a life because of a lawsuit,” Markey said. “We cannot allow the prescription drug epidemic to spread from the emergency room to the courtroom as a result of good Samaritans administering lifesaving drugs like naloxone to prevent overdoses.”

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