III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 323 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day 

on August 21, 2023. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Fentanyl Prevention and 

Awareness Day on August 21, 2023. 

Whereas families in the United States affected by the use of 

illicit fentanyl use Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness 

Day to— 

(1) preserve the memory of the individuals lost to 

fentanyl overdose or poisoning who were unsuspecting 

victims, experimenting with the drug, or suffering from 

substance use disorder; 

(2) acknowledge the devastation caused by the use 

of illicit fentanyl and other dangerous drugs; and 

(3) share awareness about the dangers of the use of 

illicit fentanyl to prevent a public health crisis, self-harm, 

addiction, and death; 


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•SRES 323 ATS 

Whereas Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day is celebrated each year on August 21 by State governors and 

attorneys general, the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, parent-teacher associations, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Drug Enforcement Administration (referred to in this preamble as the 

‘‘DEA’’), and hundreds of other organizations throughout 

the United States; 

Whereas fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that 

is 100 times more potent than morphine; 

Whereas, according to the DEA, illicit fentanyl is— 

(1) manufactured with other illicit drugs to increase 

potency; 

(2) sold as a powder or mixed with other illicit 

drugs; and 

(3) pressed into counterfeit pills to look like legitimate pharmaceutical drugs; 

Whereas the fentanyl crisis in the United States is a serious 

public safety threat; 

Whereas the illicit fentanyl poisoning rate in 2022 was the 

highest in the history of the United States, and fentanyl 

poisoning was the number one cause of death among citizens of the United States aged 18 to 45; 

Whereas synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl and the analogues of fentanyl, are devastating communities and families at an unprecedented rate, claiming 2⁄3 of the more 

than 107,000 lives lost to drug overdoses in 2021; 

Whereas drug-related deaths throughout the United States 

reached a new record in 2022, with at least 109,680 

deaths; 


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Whereas individuals increasingly use pills or other drugs 

without knowing those substances contain fentanyl; 

Whereas, in 2021, the DEA issued the first public safety 

alert by the agency in more than 6 years to raise awareness of a significant nationwide surge in counterfeit pills; 

Whereas the rate of fentanyl-related mass poisonings (events 

including 3 or more poisonings close in time at the same 

location) was rising as of 2022, according to the DEA; 

Whereas families in the United States affected by the use of 

illicit fentanyl have gained momentum in educating the 

public about the dangers of the use of illicit fentanyl and 

other drugs and actively engage with Federal agencies to 

promote such education and awareness; 

Whereas families in the United States affected by the use of 

illicit fentanyl seek to raise awareness of that issue and 

prevent fentanyl-related deaths, and those families join 

together in the effort to save lives on Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day; and 

Whereas parents, young people, schools, businesses, law enforcement agencies, religious institutions and faith-based 

organizations, service organizations, senior citizens, medical and military personnel, sports teams, and individuals 

throughout the United States will demonstrate a commitment to healthy, productive, and drug-free lifestyles on 

Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of Fentanyl 

3 Prevention and Awareness Day; 


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1 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

2 to promote prevention of the use of fentanyl and to 

3 educate young people on Fentanyl Prevention and 

4 Awareness Day, symbolizing a commitment to 

5 healthy, drug-free lifestyles; 

6 (3) encourages children, teenagers, and other 

7 individuals to choose to live drug-free lives; and 

8 (4) encourages the people of the United States 

9 to— 

10 (A) promote drug prevention and the cre11 ation of drug-free communities; and 

12 (B) participate in drug prevention activi13 ties to show support for healthy, productive, 

14 and drug-free lifestyles. 

Æ 


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