DOPA in Minnesota: Caller Immunity, Naloxone, and Exceptions

Steve’s Law is Minnesota’s Good Samaritan overdose statute, and it means that if you call 911 for someone who is overdosing, you generally cannot be prosecuted for lower-level drug possession, sharing, or use offenses discovered because of that call. The same protection extends to the person who is overdosing, with some narrower limits. The law is codified at Minn. Stat. § 604A.05.¹

What the Caller Is Protected From

If you seek medical help for someone you believe is overdosing, you cannot be charged or prosecuted for possessing, sharing, or using a controlled substance when the evidence came to light because of the call. The immunity covers third-degree, fourth-degree, and fifth-degree controlled substance offenses.¹ That range matters. Fifth-degree possession alone carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.² Fourth-degree offenses can mean up to 15 years and a $100,000 fine.³

You do not have to be the one who dialed. The statute also protects anyone who “acts in concert” with the person seeking help, so if a friend calls while you stay behind performing first aid, you both qualify.¹

What You Have to Do to Keep the Protection

Immunity is not automatic. Three things are required, and skipping any of them can cost you the shield:

Give your name and contact information to responders. You cannot stay anonymous.
Remain on the scene until emergency medical personnel or law enforcement arrive and take over.
Cooperate with authorities and assist in caring for the person who is overdosing.

All three appear directly in the statute.¹ There is also a fourth condition built into the structure of the law: the evidence that would otherwise support charges must have been discovered because of your call. If police already had an independent basis to know about the drugs, the immunity does not block that.

The statute requires that you act in good faith, and it names one specific situation that does not count: calling for medical assistance while police are already executing an arrest warrant, a search warrant, or a lawful search. You cannot use the law to create a shield mid-raid.¹

What the Overdosing Person Is Protected From

The person who actually experiences the overdose gets immunity too, but it is narrower. They cannot be charged for possession of a controlled substance or possession of drug paraphernalia when the evidence surfaced because of the medical emergency.¹ The caller’s protection reaches possession, sharing, and use; the overdosing person’s reaches possession and paraphernalia.

On the third-degree side, the possession immunity for the overdosing person is limited to specific categories, including possession of controlled substances or methamphetamine in protected locations such as schools, parks, and public housing zones. Fourth- and fifth-degree possession is covered in full.⁴

If You Are on Probation, Parole, or Pretrial Release

This is the part people under court supervision most need to know. If you are on probation, parole, supervised release, pretrial release, or furlough, your supervision cannot be revoked based on an incident for which you would otherwise be immune under Steve’s Law.¹ Without that safeguard, someone with a no-drug-use condition would still face revocation just for being present at an overdose, and the whole law would fall apart. Routine drug testing under other provisions still applies. The protection is specific to the overdose incident.

What the Law Does Not Cover

Steve’s Law is a targeted protection, not a general amnesty. Several things stay fully prosecutable.

Sales-level and trafficking offenses are not shielded. First-degree controlled substance crimes in Minnesota carry up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine, and if responders find evidence of a distribution operation during an overdose call, those charges proceed.⁵

Non-drug crimes discovered at the scene remain enforceable. The statute expressly says nothing in the law bars the admissibility of evidence of other offenses committed by someone who otherwise qualifies for overdose immunity.¹ Illegal weapons, assault, outstanding warrants, and stolen property all stay on the table.

Evidence traced to an independent source is also outside the immunity. If prosecutors can show they came to the drugs through means unrelated to the overdose call, they can still bring possession charges.¹

Calling for Help as a Mitigating Factor

Even when immunity does not apply, the call still counts. The statute provides that giving first aid or other medical assistance during a drug-related overdose may be used as a mitigating factor in any criminal prosecution not covered by the immunity.¹ It is not a guarantee of leniency, but it gives defense counsel something concrete to raise at sentencing.

Naloxone Immunity Under a Related Statute

A companion provision at Minn. Stat. § 604A.04 lets anyone carry and administer naloxone (sold as Narcan) as long as the drug was prescribed, dispensed, or distributed by a licensed health care professional. If you administer it in good faith to someone you reasonably believe is overdosing, you are immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability for that act.⁶ The Minnesota Department of Health runs a naloxone standing order program to widen access to the medication.⁷

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 604A.05 – Good Samaritan Overdose Medical Assistance
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 152.025 – Controlled Substance Crime in the Fifth Degree
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 152.024 – Controlled Substance Crime in the Fourth Degree
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 152.023 – Controlled Substance Crime in the Third Degree
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 152.021 – Controlled Substance Crime in the First Degree
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 604A.04 – Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention
7
Minnesota Department of Health. Naloxone Standing Order and Protocol