Commonwealth v. Lewis

In this appeal, we interpret and apply the Drug Overdose Response Immunity statute, 35 P.S. § 780-113.7 (the "Act"). In an effort to prevent overdose deaths, the Legislature provided for immunity from prosecution for certain crimes when a person has a reasonable belief someone is suffering from an overdose and contacts *788 local authorities. The Act provides this immunity to both the reporter and the victim, so long as several conditions are met.

At issue here is whether the statute applies to a person who reasonably believed she herself had overdosed and contacted authorities pursuant to this…