III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 293 

Designating June 26, 2021, as the ‘‘International Day against Drug Abuse 

and Illicit Trafficking’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. RISCH, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. HAWLEY) submitted 

the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating June 26, 2021, as the ‘‘International Day 

against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’’. 

Whereas the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 269,000,000 individuals used illicit drugs 

worldwide in 2018, a 30 percent increase from 2009; 

Whereas the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 35,600,000 individuals globally suffered from 

substance use disorders in 2018; 

Whereas the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration reported that, in 2019, 35,800,000 individuals 

aged 12 or older used an illicit drug in the United States 

in the past month, and 21,600,000 individuals aged 12 

or older needed substance abuse treatment in the past 

year; 


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•SRES 293 ATS 

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(‘‘CDC’’) estimated that a record 91,862 individuals died 

from drug overdoses between October 2019 and October 

2020; 

Whereas, according to the CDC, opioids are the main driver 

of drug overdose deaths in the United States, with synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl and 

fentanyl analogues, causing approximately 73 percent of 

opioid-involved overdose deaths; 

Whereas CDC data indicates that drug overdose deaths have 

increased during the coronavirus pandemic; 

Whereas the National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that 

illicit drug use costs the United States $193,000,000,000 

annually in healthcare costs, crime, and lost productivity; 

Whereas the Drug Enforcement Administration reports that 

drug trafficking fuels the drug overdose epidemic in the 

United States and can lead to violence in communities 

throughout the country and the world; 

Whereas the Department of State reports that the illicit drug 

trade can undermine the rule-of-law and fuel corruption; 

and 

Whereas the United Nations General Assembly established 

June 26 as the ‘‘International Day against Drug Abuse 

and Illicit Trafficking’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) encourages access to prevention, treatment, 

3 and recovery programs for individuals with sub4 stance use disorders, including access to medication5 assisted treatment; 


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•SRES 293 ATS 

1 (2) commends the efforts of law enforcement 

2 agencies and officers to detect, curtail, and prevent 

3 drug trafficking and production domestically and 

4 internationally; 

5 (3) applauds the work of law enforcement agen6 cies, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who 

7 work to connect individuals with a substance use dis8 order to treatment facilities; 

9 (4) supports research into treatments for sub10 stance use disorders; 

11 (5) encourages greater international cooperation 

12 to dismantle drug trafficking organizations and 

13 transnational criminal organizations involved in the 

14 illicit drug trade; 

15 (6) supports efforts to unravel financial net16 works that enable the illicit drug trade; 

17 (7) calls on other United Nations Member 

18 States to mark the ‘‘International Day against Drug 

19 Abuse and Illicit Trafficking’’; and 

20 (8) designates June 26, 2021, as the ‘‘Inter21 national Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Traf22 ficking’’. 

Æ 


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