NJ governor signs overdose measure

Associated Press

PATERSON, N.J.

Just a few months after his daughter survived a drug overdose, Jon Bon Jovi joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday for the signing of a law to encourage reporting of overdoses so victims don’t end up dead.

Bon Jovi called the law a lifesaver and encouraged other states to do the same.

“I hope that Gov. Christie’s actions here will cause other states to stand up and to pay attention and also to follow in his footsteps,” Bon Jovi said before accompanying the Republican governor on a visit with patients at a drug rehabilitation center.

The New Jersey law seeks to assure timely medical treatment for overdose victims by encouraging people to seek help without fear of being arrested for drug possession.

Bon Jovi’s daughter overdosed in a dorm at Hamilton College in upstate New York last year. Prosecutors dropped drug charges against Stephanie Bongiovi and another student under that state’s good Samaritan overdose-reporting law.

Bon Jovi, who has a home in New Jersey, did not bring up his daughter’s case at the bill-signing, and neither did the governor. In a December interview, Bon Jovi said he was shocked to learn of her overdose.

“She was doing great. Then a sudden and steep decline. Hopefully, we caught it when we did and that’s the end of it. But who knew?” said Bon Jovi, a father of four.

Christie has called the war on drugs a failure and has pushed for mandatory treatment for all nonviolent drug offenders.