Medical Amnesty, Good Samaritan Reporting Program Covered in BDN Piece

The Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan reporting program at the University of Maine was mentioned in a Bangor Daily News article about a bill aimed at encouraging minors to seek help for alcohol poisoning that its supporters say is at risk of being vetoed. Rep. Joyce Maker, a Calais Republican and member of the education committee, said in the article she sponsored LD 263, An Act To Provide a Minor with a Defense to Prosecution in a Situation That Involves Risk of Alcohol Overdose, to help save lives. Maker said in the article she put the bill forward after being asked to do so by Old Town school board member Lee Jackson, a UMaine political science student. Robert Dana, UMaine’s vice president for student life and dean of students, spoke about a similar policy the university began in 2010. The Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan reporting program is a campuswide undertaking that encourages students to report extremely intoxicated classmates, the article states. “You don’t want a minor saying, ‘I’m not going to call because the cops [could arrest me].’ You want them saying, ‘I’m going to help. I’m going to call and help save someone’s life,’” Dana said.