Walk It Through: The Overdose at the Party
A friend who will not wake up, a call for help, pills on the table, and an underage guest with a beer.
At an apartment party, a friend slumps over and will not respond. There are pills on the coffee table.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One overdose at a party. Selling drugs, a death, a car involved and the federal law on controlled substances are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Community restitutionHours of public service a court orders as part of a sentence, ten to sixty hours on a first driving under the influence offense.
- Underage possessionHaving an alcoholic beverage before one's twenty first birthday. A first offense is $150 to $750, with thirty hours of community service and a license suspension.
- ViolationAn offense punishable only by a fine of not more than $500.
- Overdose immunityThe protection from possession charges for a person who seeks medical help in good faith for an overdose, and for the person who overdosed, when the evidence came from the call.