What is the significance of the Good Samaritan law in North Carolina?

• A. It banned naloxone prescribing
• B. It required physicians to administer naloxone
• C. It had no effect on opioid response
• D. It enabled naloxone access and third-party prescribing, enabling EMS, nonprofits, and grassroots organizations to administer naloxone

Answer: (D)

The main idea this question tests is how Good Samaritan laws promote life-saving handoffs during overdoses. In North Carolina, the Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act provides immunity from civil and certain criminal liabilities for people who act in good faith during an opioid overdose—such as by administering naloxone or calling for help. This legal protection reduces the fear of legal consequences that can keep bystanders from intervening, so more people are likely to step in and save a life.

Beyond protection for individuals, the law supports broader naloxone access by allowing third-party prescribing and distribution, which enables EMS, nonprofit groups, and community organizations to equip and empower others to administer naloxone. In practical terms, naloxone can be carried and used by non-medical responders in the community, increasing the chances that someone experiencing an overdose gets reversal medication quickly while help is on the way.

The other options don’t fit because the law does not ban naloxone, does not require physicians to administer it, and certainly has an impact on overdose response by expanding access and encouraging intervention.