General policy statement
This Bill aims to ensure that those who call for life-saving help when they are with someone who is experiencing a drug overdose or adverse drug reaction, are protected from being charged for low-level drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. While those who seek help are not routinely criminally charged, there is a fear of criminal prosecution. This clarification can help avoid overdose deaths by making it clear that those who call for life-saving services will be protected.
The Bill is an omnibus Bill introduced in accordance with Standing Order 267(1)(a) as the provisions deal with an interrelated topic that can be regarded as implementing a single broad policy.
Those who call for life-saving help, those experiencing an overdose or adverse reaction to drugs, and those incidentally at the scene will be protected from being charged with specific offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act. These offences include possession or use of drugs, possession of drug utensils, enabling the premises for low-level drug offending, or social supply of drugs (for example, friends sharing drugs with one another on a non-commercial basis). Those who are on parole with conditions on drug use will also be protected, as they have a heightened overdose risk after a period of sobriety while incarcerated.
There is no ‘typical’ drug user in New Zealand. On average, about three people die each week from an accidental overdose. Those who die are young and old, from every region in the country, but those most likely to die of an overdose are people aged between 45 and 54 years old. Importantly, this age group is among the least likely to present to hospital for help when experiencing drug poisoning. Our current legal settings are meaning people delay, or avoid, calling for help. This Bill seeks to address that and consequently save lives. Opioid drugs have been responsible for around 65 deaths a year, whereas other drugs like MDMA, cocaine, and methamphetamine are involved in an average of 83 fatal overdoses each year, typically in combination with other substances. Sometimes, people will take a drug without knowing it has a dangerous additive or it is something different to what they expected. Ultra-potent opioids like fentanyl have been found in other drugs in New Zealand, resulting in some fatal overdoses.
This Bill is not intended to encourage drug use, but to save lives, whether an overdose or adverse reaction is caused by legally prescribed drugs, illicit drugs, or a combination of these.