By Charles Young, WV News
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia Senate passed a bill Monday aimed at strengthening an existing law that penalizes those who fail to act in the event of a drug overdose.
Senate Bill 219, which would clarify two phrases in the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act, passed the Senate unanimously and will now go to the House of Delegates for consideration.
Initially passed in 2017, the Uniform Controlled Substances Act created two new criminal offenses, according to Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan.
The first made it a felony offense to deliver a controlled substance to another person who dies as a result of an overdose. The second made it a felony offense to fail to call for help in the event of an overdose.
SB 219 would amend the Uniform Controlled Substances Act by adding two new definitions, Trump said.
