G.D. Hancock, Ph.D.
Oregon has one law on supplying drugs that cause a death.
Unlawfully manufacturing or delivering a Schedule IV controlled substance (such as many sedatives) that plays a substantial role in another person's death. It does not apply to heroin, fentanyl, cocaine or methamphetamine, which are in other schedules; deaths involving those drugs are charged, if at all, under the general homicide laws.
A person who contacts emergency services or police for someone overdosing, and the person who overdosed, are immune from arrest, prosecution and civil penalties for possession of drugs and paraphernalia and frequenting a place where drugs are used, when the evidence came from the call. It does not cover delivery.
Statute: Or. Rev. Stat. § 475.898
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))
8 cases in the published sample of the drug-induced homicide case database were prosecuted in Oregon. 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 Oregon about your own situation.