Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Amnesty Policy
the problem:
VCU Students for Sensible Drug Policy is trying to enact a medical amnesty policy at our university.Medical Amnesty Policies are life-saving measures that enable people to make responsible decisions by shielding them from punishment when they call for medical help during an emergency relating to alcohol or other drugs. Since the threat of punitive policies can often cause hesitation during confusing and stressful party situations, the existence of a Medical Amnesty Policy is essential to ensuring that people are able to stay alive and receive help when they are in trouble.
vital stats:
people impacted:
33,000people involved:
500why it's important:
This is important to me because this policy could potentially help thousands of college students stay alive. By taking the fear and hesitation away from calling the police or paramedics in situations like these, I am sure that more people will get the medical help they need. This is something that makes sense, and has been proven to help in college climates.
the plan of action:
We have been canvasing our campus gathering signatures for our Medical Amnesty petition. We have just finished this step, and we just submitted our petition to our Student Government Association, and are hoping that they will pass the bill. However, we are doubtful that they will actually do this. So we will need to revamp our efforts and step up our plan of action in the coming weeks. We will be meeting with university officials, passing out information literature, and talking to as many students as possible.
how you can get involved:
Other students can help by making these policies more well known on other college campuses, or by visiting our website to learn more. If they are a VCU student, they can sign our petition.
