Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill
This bill protects people from being charged with minor drug offences if they call for emergency help during a drug overdose. Right now, some people are afraid to ring for help because they worry about getting in trouble with the law. The bill says that if police find out about minor drug offending only because someone called an ambulance, that person cannot be prosecuted. People on bail or parole with drug conditions also won't be punished for breaching those conditions in this situation.
What this affects
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People at a drug overdose scene can call an ambulance without fear of being charged with minor drug offences.
No prosecution for an offence specified in subsection (3) may be commenced or continued against a specified person if the evidence in support of that offence was obtained or discovered as a result of emergency assistance having been sought for a drug overdose or drug-related acute adverse reaction.
This Bill seeks to address that and consequently save lives.
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Health Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 15 June 2026.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.