Professor, Department of Criminology, Ryerson University, 380 Victoria St. (JOR 820), Toronto, Ontario. M5B 2K3.
Director of Research and Advocacy, HIV Legal Network, 1240 Bay Street (suite 600), Toronto, Ontario. M5R 2A7.
Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Feb;88:103039. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.103039. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
Research has shown that police attendance and the corresponding threat of criminal charges are major deterrents to people seeking emergency medical assistance in the event of an overdose. In response to these barriers, Canada passed the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act in 2017, providing immunity from prosecution for simple drug possession to overdose victims or bystanders who phone 911. In theory, this should make people more comfortable seeking emergency supports, but in practice our research found that many remain hesitant because police continue to be routinely dispatched to the overdose site. Based on focus groups and surveys with 109 people who use drugs across Ontario, Canada, our findings show that the vast majority of participants have negative interactions with police, which discourages them from seeking medical assistance at future overdose incidents. Almost all questioned the necessity of dispatching law enforcement to a health emergency that requires medical intervention. As such, this commentary draws on the study's qualitative data to argue that ending routine police attendance at drug overdoses in Ontario would remove a major barrier to calling 911, and thus prevent the further, unnecessary loss of life in the ongoing overdose crisis.
研究表明，警察的到场以及随之而来的刑事指控的威胁，是人们在药物过量时寻求紧急医疗援助的主要障碍。针对这些障碍，加拿大在 2017 年通过了《好撒玛利亚人药物过量法案》，为拨打 911 的药物过量受害者或旁观者提供了对简单持有毒品的刑事豁免权。从理论上讲，这应该会让人们更愿意寻求紧急支持，但实际上，我们的研究发现，由于警察仍会例行前往药物过量现场，许多人仍然犹豫不决。基于对安大略省 109 名吸毒者的焦点小组和调查，我们的研究结果表明，绝大多数参与者与警察存在负面互动，这使他们在未来的药物过量事件中不愿寻求医疗帮助。几乎所有人都质疑在需要医疗干预的卫生紧急情况下派遣执法人员是否有必要。因此，本文援引了该研究的定性数据，认为结束安大略省药物过量事件中的例行警察到场，将消除拨打 911 的一个主要障碍，并防止在持续的药物过量危机中进一步发生不必要的死亡。
