Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Research in this field is slim, with only two papers previously examining the effects of these laws. These papers were also written during the infancy period of Good Samaritan Laws providing very few treatment states and observations; additionally, statistically significant estimates of the effect of a Good Samaritan Law on overdose deaths have yet to be achieved. This paper will add to the literature by examining the years 1999-2017, which provides additional treatment variation because 25 more states have passed a Good Samaritan Law between 2015 and 2017. I leverage the variation in the timing of these laws across the country to estimate a generalized difference in differences, and I also exploit the variation in the strength of the treatment between states to reveal the mechanism working behind the law’s effectiveness. I find no evidence that Good Samaritan Laws decrease overdose fatalities; instead, my statistically insignificant point estimate suggests they increase overdose deaths by 4.9%. Using a 95% confidence interval, I can rule out anything greater than a 7.8% decrease in overdose deaths.