University student Jacob Boudreaux announced a new bill at the Students for Sensible Drug Policy meeting on Thursday. The biochemistry and french junior and student senator for the College of Science said he will introduce an emergency medical amnesty bill, also known as a Good Samaritan policy, which would prevent University students from receiving disciplinary action for calling 911 if a friend overdosed on illicit drugs.
Boudreaux said the original medical amnesty policy, which the Board of Supervisors has not yet approved, protects students calling for help in three categories: students who require medical help for themselves, students calling for others in need and organizations, such as Greek Life, which call for their members.
Boudreaux said he and three other senators submitted the initial medical amnesty proposal with language including only “alcohol related emergencies.” He said the intention of the original bill was to provide for all kinds of substance-related emergencies, with the new bill including broader language.
Boudreaux pointed out the bill would only give students who call for help immunity from student code of conduct violations, not legal ramifications. He said LSU Police Department still has the discretion to conduct an investigation, but students cannot be expelled from the University for calling 911.
Political science senior and Founder of SSDP-LSU Christopher Ambrogio said he’s been lobbying for this legislation since last semester, and after Boudreaux decided to meet with him, he convinced him to amend the existing proposal.
“This isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Ambrogio said. “It’s a way for students to make responsible decisions.”
More than 240 schools around the country have medical amnesty policies, Ambrogio said. He cited Baylor, Cornell, Harvard and other schools as having broader policies, which include illegal drugs, he hopes the University can adopt.
Ambrogio cited a survey of illegal drug users in Washington, where 88 percent of drug users said they would be more likely to call for help because of the medical amnesty law in place.
Boudreaux is optimistic about the bill’s passage in the Student Senate, saying he saw only one bill fail in his three years in the Senate.
He said the new bill must go through committee, then be passed by the Senate, then go to the administration and “sit around until somebody deals with it.” He said the Board of Supervisors has the final say over the bill’s passage into policy.
The process from writing the bill to approval usually takes about one or two years, Boudreaux said. He said he will strongly urge Dean of Students K.C. White to move the bill along.
“If this saves one life, then it’s worth passing it,” Boudreaux said.