In Kansas you could go to jail if you overdose. A bipartisan bill looks to end that

TOPEKA — Kansas is one of two states where people who need help during drug overdoses can be arrested. New legislation would allow Kansans to seek potentially life-saving treatment without fear of repercussion.

House Bill 2487, passed Thursday 120-0 in the House, is an overdose prevention bill that would put a Good Samaritan law in place for opioid overdose cases. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is likely to be approved.

The bill would provide an exemption from drug and alcohol charges for those who call for help from law enforcement or emergency medical services when someone requires life-saving intervention in cases of overdose. This marks a significant change from current practice, where people who call for help for themselves or others during overdoses can be arrested. 

“We should be empowering Kansans to save lives without a second thought, not leaving them afraid to make the choice between saving someone’s life or making a phone call that could send them to jail,” said Tim DeWeese, director of the Johnson County Mental Health Center in January testimony supporting the change. 

DeWeese noted that Kansas is one of the only states in the country without this sort of protection. The other state without some form of Good Samaritan opioid overdose law is Wyoming.  

The bill is one of several pieces of legislation Kansas House lawmakers approved to combat fentanyl overdoses in the state. The exact extent of fentanyl spread in Kansas is unknown. 

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 600 drug-related overdose deaths in 2021. Around half of the drug-related overdose deaths were related to synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl. 

The most recent data on child mortality in the state puts the number of 2021 child fentanyl-related deaths at nine. For the same year, there were 32 child homicides and 29 suicide deaths.  

KBI officials, under the guidance of Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, have repeatedly warned about the dangers of fentanyl, placing the issue at the heart of several campaigns — though often combining the issue with that of immigration. 

Kobach and other Republicans in the state have promoted a narrative that migrants are smuggling fentanyl in through an “open border.” Research from National Public Radio found the vast majority of fentanyl is actually smuggled into the country through official ports of entry. 

During his campaign for his current position, Kobach linked southern border security to fentanyl trafficking, saying he would stop drug cartels from bringing fentanyl across the border and into Kansas. Kobach has since maintained a strong anti-immigration stance, most recently warning against “Mexican drug cartels.” 

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, sent out a Friday statement on fentanyl. 

“House Republicans are laser-focused on our commitment to combat the fentanyl crisis that is killing our Kansas youth and making our communities less safe,” Hawkins said. “We’re leading the way on policy that fights back against the horrors of this deadly drug that have been amplified in recent years due to a porous southern border.”

House Bill 2613 would establish a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) educator within the Attorney General’s office, as well as a DARE fund administered by the office. The DARE educator would provide DARE curriculum instruction to Kansas public schools, including informing students about fentanyl and other opioids. 

An earlier version of the bill would have demanded the diversion of approximately $300,000  from the Kansas Endowment for Youth (KEY) fund into the DARE. program. Officials from the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund, which uses the KEY fund to pay for various early childhood programs, opposed the transfer. The provision was removed under Rep. Henry Helgerson’s amendment. 

“I am not playing any games about not trying to do the money, but there is concern that if you start down this path with the demand transfer out of the KEY fund, other legislatures may do this or the Senate may do this.” Helgerson said during Wednesday House debate on the bill. “We’re trying to protect the KEY fund.”

The Office of the Attorney General estimated a cost of $125,000 from the newly created DARE Fund for the educator’s salary and related expenditures. Other dollars from the DARE fund would be used to expand the DARE program to include fentanyl and other opioid drugs education. House lawmakers voted 105-15 in support of the legislation.