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position. But whoever was with him when he was using drugs was long gone by the time the police arrived.
• When Patty DiRenzo learned what happened to her son, she wondered: "How could somebody leave somebody to die?"
• Now, DiRenzo, of Blackwood, N.J., is part of a nationwide push to make sure people won't be too afraid of being arrested to call 911 when they or someone they're with has overdosed. Eight states have passed laws in the past five years that give people limited immunity on drug possession charges if they seek medical help for an overdose. A similar proposal is being considered in the District of Columbia but faces uncertain prospects because of opposition from police and prosecutors.
• "It's really common sense -- just to make it easier for people to call 911 by addressing what people have said is sort of their single-greatest fear in delaying or not calling 911 at all," said Meghan Ralston, harm reduction coordinator of the Drug Policy Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit that works to change current drug policies.
• The measures have encountered resistance from some police officials and law-and-order legislators, who say the proposals are tantamount to get-out-of-jail-free cards, condone drug use, and could prevent police from investigating illicit drug dealing or juvenile drug use.
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