HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Joan Papp MD FACEP
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
Medical Director, Cuyahoga County Project DAWN
October 27, 2015
Chairman Butler, Vice Chair Manning, Ranking Member Stinziano and Members of the House Judiciary
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of HB 249. I am speaking to
you as the Medical Director for Project DAWN, a lifesaving overdose prevention program sponsored by
our Cuyahoga County safety-net hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, MetroHealth Medical Center, the Cuyahoga
County Executive’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health. I am a member of The Ohio State
Medical Association and the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. I am also
here today speaking today on behalf of The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland and Northern Ohio and I
am here today providing testimony alongside Kelly Smith, Program and Policy Director for the Mental
Health and Addiction Coalition and Cindy Koutmoutzis of Ohio CAN, which is a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to embrace, educate and empower families living with substance use disorders.
Our state in is in the grips of an opioid epidemic. In 2014, The Ohio Department of Health reported that
2,482 deaths occurred by unintentional drug overdose statewide. This is the highest recorded number of
overdose deaths in the history of our state. In fact, since 2007, drug overdose deaths surpassed the
number of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents in the state of Ohio for the first time on record.
Ohio Department of Health reports that over 80% of these overdose deaths are attributed to
prescription opioid painkillers or heroin.
As Project DAWN Medical Director, I work closely with those who are most affected by addiction. Our
program Project DAWN, provides education to opioid users on risk factors for overdose, recognition of
opioid overdose and training on responding to an overdose. We train participants to respond to an
opioid overdose by calling 911, providing rescue breathing and administering nasal naloxone. We
provide free overdose prevention kits to eligible participants who have completed training. We have
found through our work in overdose prevention that many of our participants are hesitant to contact
EMS in the event of a witnessed opioid overdose due to fears of arrest and incarceration. In fact, our
program participated in a 2013 ODH survey of high-risk opioid users attitudes about summoning
emergency services in the event of an overdose. It was shown that while only 58% of individuals called
911 after the most recent overdose that they witnessed, 94% reported that they would be willing to call
911 in the event of an overdose if Ohio had a Good Samaritan Law. 49% of individuals surveyed cited
that they were concerned that they would be arrested if they called 911 under current law.
HB 249, if passed, would provide immunity for the individual summoning EMS as well as the overdose
victim from minor drug possession charges. It would not provide immunity for other offenses such as
drug trafficking or driving under the influence of drugs.
We have also actively supported the passage of HB 170 and HB 4 which allow increased access to the
antidote to opioid overdose, naloxone. Contained within this legislation is a mandate to activate EMS in
the event of an overdose when administering naloxone. While we believe that this is vital to overdose
The MetroHealth System . 2500 MetroHealth Drive . Cleveland, Ohio 44109-1998 . www.metrohealth.org
response, I fear without protection from arrest this mandate may go unheeded by those responding to
overdose.
Ohio is not the first state to consider and adopt legislation similar to House Bill 249. In fact, 30 states
and the District of Columbia have adopted 911 Good Samaritan laws that provide limited immunity and
arrest from prosecution. These laws protect the caller and overdose victim from arrest and or
prosecution for simple drug possession, possession of paraphernalia and or being under the influence of
drugs.
I believe that passage of House Bill 249 is vital to building on the work of Project DAWN and saving lives
in Ohio.
Thank you for considering this testimony in support of House Bill 249. I am more than happy to answer
and questions you may have.
The MetroHealth System . 2500 MetroHealth Drive . Cleveland, Ohio 44109-1998 . www.metrohealth.org