The Fargo Police Department recognizes that not only reducing the supply of drugs is essential to a safe and drug free community, but also reducing the desire for illicit drugs is a vital component to effectively reduce drug use in our community.

Prevention

To address the increasing number of overdose deaths related to both prescription opioids and illicit drugs, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a website to educate people who use drugs about the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs, the lifesaving power of naloxone, and the importance of reducing stigma around recovery and treatment options.

Death from an opioid overdose happens when too much of the drug overwhelms the brain and interrupts the body's natural drive to breathe. Knowing the signs of a drug overdose could save a life.

Resources

• North Dakota Behavioral Health and Human Services Division
• Fargo Cass Public Health Harm Reduction Programs
• Drug Fact Sheets
  
  

Overdose Prevention and Immunity Law

The North Dakota overdose prevention and immunity law protects individuals from criminal prosecution if they contact law enforcement or emergency medical services to report they or another individual is in need of emergency medical assistance due to a drug overdose. To receive immunity under this statute, the individual receiving immunity must have:

1. Remained on scene until assistance arrived;
2. Cooperated with emergency medical services in the medical treatment of the reported drug overdosed individual. For example telling emergency personnel what drug or drugs were taken, how much, and when;
3. And the overdosed individual must have been in need of emergency medical services.

If these criteria are met, the statue grants individuals immunity from prosecution for possession, ingestion, or sharing of a controlled substance or possession of drug paraphernalia that occurred at the scene where the overdose occurred. The law does not provide immunity for delivery, manufacturing, or distribution of a controlled substance.