Table 1.

Responses to the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (GSA) Knowledge Assessment Question Among People Who Use Illicit Drugs in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 2018 to November 2018 (n = 1,258).

Question: Imagine you witness an overdose in a public place. 911 is called and the police come to the scene. Do you think the police can legally arrest you if	Yes, n (%)	No, n (%)
Scenario A: You have a small amount of drugs on you	515 (40.9)	743 (59.1)
Scenario B: You have a larger amount of drugs on you or items that may look like you are involved in drug dealing	914 (72.7)	344 (27.3)
Scenario C: You are in a red/no-go zone you received for a previous charge that was not simple drug possession	953 (75.8)	305 (24.2)
Accurate knowledge of the Canadian GSA	358 (28.5)	900 (71.5)

Note. The Canadian GSA provides protections from the arrest, charge or prosecution of drugs possessed for personal use (simple possession), and breach of conditions (e.g., probation orders, parole) related to simple possession to those involved at the overdose event when emergency medical services are called (Government of Canada, 2017a). Participants who correctly identified that police could not legally arrest an individual in Scenario A but could legally arrest individuals in Scenarios B and C were deemed to have accurate knowledge of the GSA.