Testimony before Joint Committee on the Judiciary
Melissa Weiksnar
Boston, Massachusetts -- February 7, 2012
A little over two years ago, when my daughter was a junior in the nursing program at Boston College, she took a medical leave of absence to voluntarily enter treatment for heroin addiction. Five weeks into her treatment, Amy obtained drugs and overdosed. When she was discovered unconscious in the bathroom, 9-1-1 was called. The EMTs were at the scene seven minutes later, but even with Narcan they couldn't revive her. That evening, our daughter, weeks shy of her 21st birthday, was pronounced dead, on the day after Christmas, 2009.
It's not clear whether Amy would still be alive if Narcan had been immediately available to reverse her overdose. But since her death I have met others whose loved ones have had an overdose reversed by Narcan. These children, grandchildren, and siblings now have another chance at recovery. But since the opiate epidemic extends across the age spectrum, the next person saved could be a parent, or even a grandparent.
Much like we now expect epi-pens in schools, and cardiac defibrillators in public places, I look forward to policies that would promote Narcan in all facilities that treat opiate addicts. However, for those policies to be put in place, we need this Good Samaritan legislation to provide legal protection to those who administer Narcan in good faith to someone appearing to have an opiate overdose.
It's too late for my daughter to be saved by a professional, or a Good Samaritan, with Narcan. But it's not too late for someone you know or love, who is struggling with the tragic disease of opiate addiction, and could be the next one to overdose. I urge your support of S907, which I'd like to think of as "Amy's law."