Medical amnesty policy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Medical Amnesty Policies are laws or acts enacted protecting from liability those who seek medical attention as a result of illegal actions. Such policies have been developing most notably in colleges in the United States regarding alcohol and drug use by students. Schools such as Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

have implemented such policies to protect students seeking medical attention from legal action for underage drinking and possession of alcohol

Minor In Possession

In the United States, a Minor in Possession, or a MIP, is a criminal offense, typically a misdemeanor. Anyone who is under the age of 21 and possesses alcohol in the United States, with the exception of special circumstances, is violating the law of the state...

and/or drugs. The purpose of such policies is to reduce the hesitation caused by fear of legal action to seek medical attention.
Similar policies are applicable at many levels: Colleges and universities, local communities, as well as state governments and the federal government.

Development

Medical amnesty policies were first present in the University setting. Although failure to seek medical assistance in cases of alcohol poisoning can lead to fatal outcomes, evidence suggests that the threat of judicial consequences resulting from enforcement of the minimum drinking age or other law or policy violations leads some students to refrain from calling for emergency medical services. A study was initiated in 2002 at Cornell University

Cornell University

to investigate if implementation of a Medical amnesty policy increase the likelihood that students will call for help in alcohol-related medical emergencies; and increase the likelihood that students treated for alcohol-related medical emergencies will receive a brief psycho-educational intervention at the university health center as a follow-up to their medical treatment.

In April 2009, more than 100 college and university presidents signed the Amethyst Initiative

Amethyst Initiative

The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that in July 2008 launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S...

. The Amethyst Initiative seeks to spark discussion about the current drinking age, problems related to underage drinking, and to develop new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol. One preventative component of this that many campuses have adopted is requiring an online alcohol education course before registering for classes. Another option to better handle underage drinking is the introduction of medical amnesty policies.

Individual amnesty

Individual amnesty is the most limited level of protection. This level protects individuals who are seeking medical attention for themselves as a result of an illegal action. Individual amnesty does not extend to organizations that person may be a part of or peers also present with the individual at that time.

Caller amnesty

These policies, also known as Good Samaritan policies, Protects individuals who call for another person seeking medical attention as a result of an illegal action. Liability protection in medical amnesty policies can often extend to those seeking help regardless if they are the one who is given medical assistance. This policy builds on individual amnesty but does not guarantee protection from legal prosecution for an organization the persons are a part of or attending. See also Good Samaritan law

Good Samaritan law

Good Samaritan laws are laws or acts protecting those who choose to serve and tend to others who are injured or ill. They are intended to reduce bystanders' hesitation to assist, for fear of being sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death...

Organizational amnesty

Protects an organization that is related to the event at which medical attention is sought as a result of an illegal action. Organizational amnesty would extend liability protection to fraternities, sororities, clubs and other social venues that may have people at their location who are under the influence of certain intoxicants. This level of amnesty allows for the largest level of protection and is subsequently the most controversial as well. Various institutions that provide medical amnesty to individuals and callers but do not extend amnesty to organizations that may be involved.

Colleges and Universities

Many Colleges and Universities hold some level of a Medical amnesty policy. Medical amnesty at the university level most often pertains to exemption from punishment for an intoxicated or impaired underage student if medical assistance is called to help him or her in an emergency situation. Instead of a harsher penalty for underage drinking or drug use, a student usually receives some sort of counseling by a professional following an incident to help identify if the student has a more serious alcohol or drug problem and to provide the student with suggestions on how to stay safe in the future.

Ultimately universities seek to encourage students to call for help, valuing the student's well being as the primary concern and foregoing punishment for the student's mistake, instead referring students involved to education, community service, and rehabilitation services. Richmond University compiled a list in February 2010 of colleges and universities that have a medical amnesty policy in place as of that time. The organization, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, are extremely strong advocates for expanding medical amnesty policies on college campuses. They provide a list of schools who currently have a medical amnesty policy and a description of what the policy includes as well as a brief description of the school.

States

The specifics of Medical Amnesty Acts or sometimes titled Good Samaritan Laws vary from state to state. The laws are also in varying stages of development and implementation. In the state of Washington the 911 Good Samaritan law as currently written provides youth who are in possession of controlled substances without a prescription immunity from charges for that crime (RCW 69.50.4013), if they seek medical assistance for someone "experiencing a drug-related overdose." It does not apply to minors in possession of alcohol (RCW 66.44.270 2a). "Controlled substance" has a specific legal definition, contained in Washington's Uniform Controlled Substances Act (RCW 69.50.101d), that does not include alcohol.As long as you seek medical help in good faith, you still receive immunity from charges that you were in possession of drugs. However, if you are the person who gave the victim the drugs that caused the overdose, you can be charged. Under the Washington State 911 Good Samaritan Law, immunity does not extend to outstanding warrants, probation or parole violations, drug manufacture or delivery, controlled substances homicide, or crimes other than drug possession.

New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini sponsored legislation that would allow minors to call for medical assistance for intoxicated underage persons without being prosecuted. The bill was signed into law by the Governor in November 2009. Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

is an example of a state that is in the process of passing a medical amnesty bill. Michigan Senator Mark Meadows

Mark Meadows

Mark Stephen Meadows is an attorney, former Mayor of the City of East Lansing, Michigan, and current Assistant Leader of the Michigan State House of Representatives...

plans to reintroduce a bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

that supports medical amnesty for minors who seek help for themselves or a friend after consuming too much alcohol. The bill was first introduced in October 2009 and passed in the House but failed to pass in the Senate. Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

is an example of a state in the beginning stages of drafting a medical amnesty bill. Hawaii’s House of Representatives are currently reviewing bill for an act relating to medical amnesty. The bill was introduced on January 21, 2011.

Effectiveness

Cornell University

completed one of the most extensive studies on Medical Amnesty Policies to date. The study found that percentage of students who reported that they did not call for help in an alcohol-related medical emergency because they “didn’t want to get the person in trouble” decreased from 3.8% in the baseline survey to 1.5% at the end of the second year of implementation of a medical amnesty policy. Furthermore, the percentage of students seen by health centre staff for a brief
psycho-educational intervention after an alcohol-related emergency more than doubled (from 22% to 52%) by the end of the second year.
In their discussion, the authors explore the inherent tension between the responsibility of colleges and universitiesCreation of the protocol also served as a common ground initiative on which students, faculty, and administrators collaborated effectively. In particular, student leaders have remarked that the establishment of the MAP demonstrated that the university genuinely is concerned about the health and safety of its students.

Criticisms

Many people have criticized medical amnesty policies as policies that perpetuate underage drinking. Critics note that the goal of ameliorating the issue of youth alcohol consumption and drug abuse should focus more on preventing such activities rather than simply providing a more open course of action once choices have been made. An alternative explanation could be that the increase in calls for help reflects an increase in heavy drinking among the student population resulting in a larger percentage of students in need of emergency assistance. Such policies cover any and all incidents, regardless of how frequently a particular student may invoke it, inviting abuse of the policy. Such policies will be in conflict with existing policies regarding zero tolerance.