In efforts to fight the heroin epidemic, one Ohio community is charging drug users who are revived by emergency responder with a misdemeanor charge.
Since last month, the City of Washington Court House has begun citing people with inducing panic if responders revive them with Naloxone. The misdemeanor charge is a maximum of 180 days of jail time and one thousand dollar fine. According to the Washington Court House City attorney, the new rule is not to punish drug users, but track the people who overdosed and try and get them help.
We spoke to the City of Lima's Law Director, Tony Geiger to see if this is something they could possibly begin doing but he says he doesn't think charging drug abusers will actually help prevent the overdose epidemic in Lima.
"I don't think it's going to work at all because someone who's going to overdose on drugs is not going to be deterred by the simple misdemeanor charge filed against them. The reality is that the most they would get is a fine and i don't think that's going to act as a deterrent, but the single most important thing is that we are not convinced that legally it's an appropriate charge and we don't think the elements are there" says City of Lima's Law Director, Tony Geiger.
Geiger says drug users would benefit more from other social service programs rather than from the criminal justice program.
