G.D. Hancock, Ph.D.
Alabama has one law on supplying drugs that cause a death.
Knowingly selling, giving away, delivering or distributing a controlled substance that contains fentanyl, when the person who receives it dies as a proximate result of using it. It is not a defense that the person who supplied it did not know it contained fentanyl. Licensed doctors, pharmacists and dentists acting in practice are excluded.
A person who seeks medical help for someone else cannot be prosecuted for a misdemeanor drug offense that police learned of only because of the call, if they acted in good faith believing they were the first to call, used their own name and stayed until help arrived. It does not cover the person who overdosed, felony drug charges, or supplying drugs.
Statute: Ala. Code § 20-2-281
Does calling for help protect against the drug-death charge? No.
The Good Samaritan law does not list the drug-death offense, so it does not protect against that charge.
Whatever the law says, if someone is overdosing, call 911. A life comes first. More on calling 911.
Federal law applies in every state. When death or serious bodily injury results from using a Schedule I or II drug that a person distributed, federal law sets a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life. Federal prosecutors can bring this charge whatever the state law says. (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)-(C))
3 cases in the published sample of the drug-induced homicide case database were prosecuted in Alabama. The database is still being built; the complete version will be published when it is finished.
This page describes what the statutes say, as of 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and it can’t tell you how a court will apply the law to any particular case. Laws change; check the statute, and please speak to a lawyer in Alabama about your own situation.