They don't need consent. Overdose definitely gives probable cause.
It is legal that they can assume that if someone used drugs or admitted to being high, that they possessed drugs at one point, and that you can be charged with possession.
I would just call 911 and tell them they overdosed on heroin and stay there with them. I don't care if I'm going to get in trouble for drugs if it means being there supporting my friend on the verge of death.
Also I just want to point out that this kind of attitude is silly. First of all you are risking legal trouble, and you talk like this probably because you don't know what a felony is like. Secondly you should be moving their body to somewhere the EMT can get to, out on main street preferably but at least out on the porch.
You don't need to say they overdosed on heroin. Just say unresponsive subject who is clearly dying. It doesn't make you any better of a person to say heroin, and in my opinion it means you're a fool.
I don't mean to be so harsh but I'm going to take your criticism and address it, and maybe that's not exactly what you meant you'd do, but I'm going to clear that out of people's heads right now.
The worst possible thing you can do is try to drive them yourself to the hospital. You risk killing someone in an auto accident, if you are pulled over by cops or flee from them you aren't getting any breaks and will get charged with possession because they are high (yes, they can do that). And the ambulance can get there many times quicker than you can, you are stupid to think you can beat them.
If someone from Australia or Europe (and I suspect Canada as well) read this thread and acted on the advice in it, they'd risk criminal charges as well as having a possibly dead friend on their hands.
No, they wouldn't. I don't say anything that would do so, and nothing that would risk their death. All the advice in this thread is specifically directed towards getting the EMT there as quick as possible. I don't know what you disagree with exactly but I'm going to say you're wrong.
Instead of wasting valuable time dragging an unconscious person to a street corner you could be doing some very basic CPR and saving them an hypoxic brain injury (at best) and their life (at worst). Do you even know how long it takes for hypoxia to cause permanent brain injury?
The EMT can do this. If you are not trained for CPR then do not even attempt to try to do it, you can very easily break their ribs and cause serious permanent damage. Even those who correctly do CPR often break ribs in the process, which is not a bad thing as there is something more pressing at the matter, but if done incorrectly it's a world of trouble.
Those who have been trained for CPR will know to give CPR as necessary. There is no need to address it in this thread - those who don't know it should not even attempt it at all, those who do will know what to do because they are trained. I will post in the thread not to attempt to do CPR.
As for "wasting valuable time dragging... to a street corner" well, this is done in the 1-3 minutes it takes the ambulance to get there. This is so the EMT aren't fumbling around in your house, or trying to find your house, which you mentioned in this comment...:
And seriously, in the age of satellite navigation, emergency services don't need your assistance in finding a house.
Honestly this comment is just plain ridiculous.
To give a little story and humor into this thread: I used to work as a pizza delivery driver. My friend asked "Man, how do figure out the addresses?" I told him we all got GPS systems installed in our cars telling us the addresses. This probably isn't that funny to anyone who's never been a delivery driver, but point is, is that THEY DO NOT HAVE GPS SYSTEMS INSTALLED IN THE AMBULANCES.
It doesn't matter either. The driver can know exactly where the address is, exactly where he is going, but sometimes, you just are going too fast and pass the turn. Sometimes you're driving down the right road and not sure which house is it - you have no idea how hard it is to figure out which house is which in the dark, most houses don't have addresses posted properly. Secondly, even if you're in the right area, just because you know the maps doesn't mean you know the area. Apartment buildings are especially confusing. Many neighborhoods are just designed funny.
I don't know what to really say to you, but you're absolutely and incredulously wrong. Try being a delivery driver of any sort, even an ambulance driver, and then you will realize how hard some neighborhoods can be. Just because you have a GPS system or know the maps does not mean you know where to go. I can only say that your comment comes out of not knowing what you are talking about.
As such, it is important that you are outside with the body, and preferably on the main road.
If the ambulance has to spend time stopping and making turns in your neighborhood, that drastically makes the trip longer. The idea is that you want the ambulance to stay on 'main street' the whole time and pick the victim up on the side of main street.
You're comments are wrong and I believe I have shot them down as appropriate. I understand your concern, but you are just wrong. Overdoses are a serious matter and I'm not going to give you a pass giving the wrong information. I know you're a great poster, and I mean no offense, but I've done the study and I've done the experience and I've done the real life research. You are wrong.
And come on, in the age of GPS systems ambulance don't get lost? Man oh man, you are so wrong it's funny right there, come on, we can all have a little chuckle at that. I've done delivery with GPS systems and in the majority of cases where you get lost, it has nothing to do with not knowing the roads or maps. Many neighborhoods are just plain confusing, and delivery drivers spend a good chunk of their time driving around the neighborhood to find the right house. You need to have the victim out in the open so they don't have to guess around the neighborhood.
Just try being a pizza delivery driver, or postal worker, or whatever, for a day. It can all be very confusing to get to the right house, and you don't want the ambulance to do that. They DO get lost at times, and they DO fumble around trying to find the right address, it's very common.
Theodore 1, World 0. Final edits coming up, soon to be stickied.
Thanks everyone for contributing, I've gotten a lot of great feedback from the community here and this "Work in Progress" thread was a great idea.
I want to especially thank SixPartSeven for all of his help. Without his help this guide would merely be another post in a locked thread, long lost in the archives.