The Medical Amnesty Initiative

Medical Amnesty Legislation (also known as a Good Samaritan Policy on college campuses) is intended to reduce the fear intoxicated minors have of making contact with emergency officials when they themselves, or someone they are with, are in need of immediate medical attention. The legislation achieves this by eliminating the legal repercussion (a Minor in Possession ticket) that comes with drinking underage so that minors are more inclined to call when they need help as opposed to hesitating because they do not want to get in trouble. A sad reality faces minors today. They fear the consequences that may result from calling for help when an underage peer has had too much to drink. Red and blue flashing lights, handcuffs, jail, court appearances, records and futures—all flash through the minds of underage drinkers in the moments before a fun night with friends drastically changes into a life or death situation. At such a young age, without the experience of responsible drinking under their belt, the distinction between a dangerously intoxicated friend and a person who simply drank too much and can sleep it off, becomes a blur. Teenagers are young and they are scared. Teens know that alcohol can be dangerous; however, they don’t know how alcohol consumption levels vary from person to person. They naively trust that a friend, who appears to be in a state of deep sleep, will be alive and well in the morning. This common belief often takes precedence in situations when a person’s well-being comes into question. When the suggestion is made to call an ambulance, statements like, “just sleeping it off” or “everything’s going to be fine” dominate conversations. As it stands today in most states, calling 911 for help or bringing an underage individual to the hospital for alcohol related emergencies can result in breaking the law and receiving a Minor in Possession ticket. The threat of being issued such a ticket deters individuals from calling for help. In a time when underage drinking accounts for 12% of alcohol sales each year, there are over 5,000 young deaths annually as a result of alcohol-related unintentional injuries. According to “Monitoring the Future,” a study conducted in 2008 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, approximately 6.6 million 12 to 20 year olds have engaged in binge drinking and 2.1 million in heavy-drinking . On college campuses alone, those numbers jump to more than 40%. The same survey also revealed that 1 in 8 college students reported having 10 or more consecutive drinks. and 1 in 20 have reported 15 or more consecutive drinks, within the surveyed two-week period. The numbers speak for themselves, and it is clear that this behavior puts teens at risk. Almost half of all college students are binge drinking at least once in a two-week period and most college undergraduate students are not of the legal drinking age. It is because of the staggering numbers in each of these studies that Medical Amnesty legislation is drastically needed in all 50 states. Studies show that these laws and policies are effective, and most importantly, they SAVE LIVES. In a study conducted at Cornell University which analyzed the effects of their own Medical Amnesty Protocol, data shows that following the implementation of the policy, there was a 61% decrease in respondents indicating that the fear of getting into legal trouble was a barrier to calling for help. Furthermore, the percentage of students seen by health center staff for a brief psycho-educational intervention after an alcohol-related emergency more than doubled, from 22% to 52%, by the end of the second year. Most importantly, the number of alcohol-related EMS calls increased dramatically. The fear of receiving a Minor in Possession ticket from law enforcement who is seen as an adversary and not as an invaluable asset, costs lives. However, these fears would successfully be remedied with the passage of Medical Amnesty legislation in each state. This piece of legislation has an incredible amount bi-partisan support and has the ability to begin saving lives the moment it is enacted. My objective is that we will soon see a country where minors are no longer afraid to dial 911 for another individual who desperately needs medical attention.