The Legislature finds that:

Ask a criminal law question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

(1) Substance use disorders and drug overdoses are major health problems that affect the lives of many people and multiple services systems and lead to profound consequences, including permanent injury and death;

(2) Overdoses caused by heroin, fentanyl, other opioids, stimulants, controlled substance analogs, novel psychoactive substances, and other legal and illegal drugs are a public health crisis that stress and strain financial, public health, health care, and public safety resources in Nebraska;

(3) Overdose fatality reviews, which are designed to uncover the who, what, when, where, why, and how of fatal overdoses, allow local authorities to examine and understand the circumstances leading to a fatal drug overdose; and

(4) Through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary review, overdose fatality review teams can better understand the individual and population factors and characteristics of potential overdose victims. This provides local authorities with a greater sense of the strategies and multiagency coordination needed to prevent future overdoses and results in the more productive allocation of overdose prevention resources and services within Nebraska communities.