“No Cougar should ever die because their fellow students were afraid to get them medical help during a drug or alcohol overdose.” - SSDP at UH Founder Michael Blunk

The main function of the University of Houston’s drug policies should be to protect students from the real harms of drug and alcohol abuse, not put them in harm’s way. Saving a student’s life is more important than punishing them, which is why SSDP @ UH is working to implement a Good Samaritan Policy on our campus.

A Good Samaritan Policy would encourage students to seek medical help during a drug or alcohol overdose situation, by shielding students from harsh University-based punishments when they seek out the medical help. Too often students are afraid to call for help fearing punishment such as dorm eviction, fines, or even suspension. The reality is that a student suffering from a drug or alcohol overdose could die if they don’t receive proper medical attention, so the University should do everything they can to encourage students to seek help for that student.

The Facts:

• Good Samaritan Policies have been proven to be effective at saving lives. A 2006 study in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that emergency calls doubled after Cornell University’s Good Samaritan Policy was enacted in 2002, although alcohol abuse rates have remained relatively constant.
• Good Samaritan Policies are endorsed by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse. The University of Pennsylvania implemented a Good Samaritan Policy that the Higher Education Center says is one “most important revisions” in their drug and alcohol policy. 78% of students at the University of Pennsylvania said they are more likely to call for help because of the policy.
• Good Samaritan Policies are not a violation of federal law. The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act explicitly states that “a disciplinary sanction may include the completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program.” Follow-up evaluations and counseling are fundamental components of any Good Samaritan Policy. The key is that these followups be nonpunitive so that they don’t serve as a deterrent to calling for help
• More than half of the schools with Good Samaritan Policies provide coverage for situations involving all drugs, not just alcohol. This is logical, since marijuana is often involved in party situations and can serve as a deterrent to calling for help, whether or not the drug was involved in the overdose. We should also remember that the abuse of other illegal drugs and prescription medications can have dire consequences, which we should seek to mitigate by enacting all-inclusive Good Samaritan Policies.
• A Good Samaritan Policy is a preemptive policy that promotes responsible behavior rather than a reactive policy that rewards responsible behavior after the fact. The primary intention of a Good Samaritan Policy isn’t to reward those who make the decision to call for help when a friend is in trouble. Rather, the policy enables and empowers students to make that decision when they would otherwise hesitate.
• Good Samaritan Policies are only effective if they guarantee amnesty in writing (usually in the student code of conduct) and the policy is widely publicized. If a school has the unwritten practice of excusing students from punitive consequences during emergency situations, but students don’t know about it, then it is like having no such policy at all.

More information and resources will be posted in the coming days.