(a) As used in this section:

“Drug or alcohol overdose” means:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-43.6

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
  • Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in schedules I through V of part II. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-1
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Drug: means :

    (1) Substances recognized as drugs in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them;
    (2) Substances intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or animals;
    (3) Substances (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or animals; and
    (4) Substances intended for use as a component of any article specified in clause (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-1
  • Drug paraphernalia: means all equipment, products, and materials of any kind that are used, primarily intended for use, or primarily designed for use, in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance in violation of this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-1
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: means individual, corporation, government, or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-1
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • System: means an electronic prescription accountability system as described in part VIII. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 329-1
(1) A condition, including but not limited to extreme physical illness, decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression, coma, mania, or death, that is the result of consumption or use of a controlled substance or alcohol or a substance with which the controlled substance or alcohol was combined; or
(2) A condition that a layperson would reasonably believe to be a drug or alcohol overdose that requires medical assistance.

“Seeks medical assistance” or “seeking medical assistance” includes but is not limited to reporting a drug or alcohol overdose to law enforcement, the 911 system, a poison control center, or a medical provider; assisting someone so reporting; or providing care to someone who is experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose while awaiting the arrival of medical assistance.

(b) A person or persons who, in good faith, seek medical assistance for someone who is experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose and a person experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose who seeks medical assistance for the person’s self or is the subject of such a good faith request shall not be arrested, charged, prosecuted, or convicted; have their property subject to civil forfeiture; or otherwise be penalized for:

(1) Possession of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia under this chapter or part IV of chapter 712;
(2) Committing a prohibited act under section 281-101.5 or 712-1250.5;
(3) Violation of a restraining order; or
(4) Violation of probation or parole;

if the evidence for the arrest, charge, prosecution, conviction, seizure, or penalty was gained as a result of the seeking of medical assistance.

(c) The act of seeking medical assistance for someone who is experiencing a drug or alcohol overdose shall be considered by the court as a mitigating factor in any controlled substance or alcohol-related criminal prosecution for which immunity is not provided by this section.