Assemblyman Dan Benson was recently presented an honorary plaque for his work on the an drug overdose prevention law.
Benson was a prime sponsor of the Overdose Prevention Act, which included provisions known as the “Good Samaritan Law.”
The law encourages witnesses to a drug overdose to call 911 by protecting them from legal consequences. According to Benson, law has helped save more than 100 lives since it was enacted May 2013.
Hamilton resident Paul Ressler, a member of the Governor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, presented the plaque to Benson
Ressler, whose son Corey passed away in 2010 after an accidental drug overdose, thanked Benson for his efforts to stop more lives from being taken by drug use. Ressler believes that, if the Good Samaritan law had been enacted earlier, his son would have received the medical attention that could have saved his life.
Since his son’s death, Ressler has been a public voice for drug abuse prevention and laws that make it easier for drug users to get help with their addiction. He publicly supported the Overdose Prevention Act, which also allows police officers and others to obtain and administer the drug Narcan, which counteracts the effects of a heroin overdose and gives first responders critical time to treat an overdose.
In addition, Ressler says he plans to “continue helping at-risk youth in New Jersey by helping them find and apply for jobs and advance their situations, and getting them out of the cycle that, for many, leads to drug abuse.”
