G.D. Hancock, Ph.D.
Alaska has one law on supplying drugs that cause a death.
Knowingly manufacturing or delivering certain controlled substances when another person dies as a direct result of taking the drug. The law says the death itself does not require any culpable mental state.
Protects a person who seeks medical or police help in good faith for someone they believe is overdosing, and a person who seeks help for their own overdose, from prosecution for the drug possession offenses the law lists, when the evidence came from seeking help. A caller must stay until help arrives and cooperate, including giving identification. It does not cover supplying drugs.
Statute: Alaska Stat. § 11.71.311
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))
4 cases in the published sample of the drug-induced homicide case database were prosecuted in Alaska. 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 Alaska about your own situation.