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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 293 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>

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;
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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) encourages access to prevention, treatment, and 
        recovery programs for individuals with substance use disorders, 
        including access to medication-assisted treatment;
            (2) commends the efforts of law enforcement agencies and 
        officers to detect, curtail, and prevent drug trafficking and 
        production domestically and internationally;
            (3) applauds the work of law enforcement agencies, 
        prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who work to connect 
        individuals with a substance use disorder to treatment 
        facilities;
            (4) supports research into treatments for substance use 
        disorders;
            (5) encourages greater international cooperation to 
        dismantle drug trafficking organizations and transnational 
        criminal organizations involved in the illicit drug trade;
            (6) supports efforts to unravel financial networks that 
        enable the illicit drug trade;
            (7) calls on other United Nations Member States to mark the 
        ``International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit 
        Trafficking''; and
            (8) designates June 26, 2021, as the ``International Day 
        against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking''.
                                 <all>
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