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Ohio councilman defends suggesting medics should ignore ODs

Posted at 2:26 PM, Jul 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-01 14:26:22-04

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) -- A city councilman in Ohio says he doesn't regret his suggestion that emergency crews should stop saving people who repeatedly overdose.

Middletown City Council member Dan Picard asked just over a week ago if there is a law requiring the city to respond to overdose calls.

He suggested that people who overdose should be forced to do community service to make up for the cost of an emergency run.

He also said that no medics should respond if they overdose a third time.

Picard told the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News (http://bit.ly/2soNkK9 ) his comments "snowballed," and that he's gotten nasty responses.

But he thinks the attention is positive because it shows the city is considering all solutions to a difficult problem.