Posted: Thursday, January 28, 2016

On January 27th, RI Governor Gina Raimondo signed the Good Samaritan Act of 2016 into law at Anchor Community Recovery Center in Pawtucket. The law puts legal protection in place for those who seek medical help for individuals experiencing an overdose.

To combat the state’s opioid epidemic, Gov. Raimondo emphasized the importance of more peer recovery services like the ones at Anchor. She also remarked on the need to make Naloxone, the drug that reverses opiate overdose, more affordable and accessible. To that end, the Governor announced $40,000 from a recent settlement with Google will go toward purchase and distribution of the medication.

Also speaking was Jonathan Goyer, an Anchor recovery coordinator and champion of the law. He gave powerful testimony about the importance of Good Samaritan protections and how someone who called 911 saved his own life during an overdose. “This law will make it so no one is in the position of having to weigh a human life and their own personal freedom,” said Goyer. He also praised the speed of the bill’s passage; the RI House and Senate worked together to pass it just 21 days into the legislative session.

Speakers at the event included Anchor Associate Director Thomas Joyce, Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and bill sponsors Representative Robert Craven and Senator Michael McCaffrey.