Presidential Documents

48885 

Federal Register 

Vol. 86, No. 167 

Wednesday, September 1, 2021 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10241 of August 27, 2021 

Overdose Awareness Week, 2021 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

The overdose epidemic has taken a toll on far too many Americans and 

their loved ones. Addiction is a disease that touches families in every 

community, including my own. The epidemic is national, but the impact 

is personal. It is personal to the millions who confront substance use disorder 

every day, and to the families who have lost loved ones to an overdose. 

During Overdose Awareness Week, we recommit to taking bold actions 

to prevent overdoses and related deaths, and enhance our support for individuals with substance use disorders. 

In recent years, we have seen synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured 

fentanyl, drive many overdose deaths with cocaine- and methamphetaminerelated deaths also increasing at alarming rates. The COVID–19 pandemic 

has exacerbated the overdose epidemic, as necessary pandemic restrictions 

made it harder for individuals with addiction to receive the treatment and 

support services they need. These factors contributed to the more than 

93,000 drug overdose deaths in 2020. As a Nation, we need a strong response 

to America’s overdose epidemic and an investment in prevention, harm 

reduction, treatment and recovery services, as well as strategies to reduce 

the supply of illicit drugs. 

While drug overdose and addiction affect many different communities across 

the United States, we also recognize the longstanding inequities experienced 

by people of color, people who identify as LGBTQ+, formerly incarcerated 

individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and others. For too many 

years, these communities have faced disparate access to health care, differential treatment in the criminal justice system, and poorer health outcomes. 

My Administration is committed to addressing addiction and the overdose 

epidemic with evidence-based strategies. In April, to ensure that the Federal 

Government is promoting evidence-based public health and safety interventions, the Office of National Drug Control Policy released my Administration’s 

first year drug policy priorities. These include expanding access to prevention, treatment and harm reduction efforts, reducing youth substance use, 

reducing the supply of illicit substances, advancing recovery-ready workplaces, and expanding the addiction workforce and access to recovery support 

services for all Americans. My Administration is also committed to eliminating racial disparities in responding to the overdose epidemic as well 

as reviewing the overall approach to drug policy. 

This effort requires significant investments in our health care infrastructure. 

In my American Rescue Plan, we provided crucial funding for substance 

use disorder treatment and harm reduction, including a nearly $4 billion 

investment in our Nation’s behavioral health infrastructure. This includes 

$30 million for a new Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant program to support community-based efforts aimed at preventing 

overdoses and reducing harm associated with substance use. 

We also recognize that many of our brave veterans recovering from service 

injuries may be vulnerable to opioid addiction. I signed the Dispose Unused 

Medications and Prescription Opioids Act to ensure that Veterans Affairs 


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48886 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Presidential Documents 

facilities provide locations to dispose controlled substances in a safe, secure 

and supportive environment. 

Agencies across the Federal Government are also making significant strides 

in supporting individuals with substance use disorders. The Department 

of Health and Human Services continues to work on expanding access 

to evidence-based treatment, including a new policy to expand access to 

buprenorphine, a medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder. The 

Drug Enforcement Administration also issued a new rule that allows more 

opioid use disorder treatment programs to operate mobile components to 

better serve rural and underserved communities. These actions are only 

the beginning. My Administration will be taking additional actions to reduce 

barriers to life-saving treatment and expand access to prevention, harm 

reduction, and recovery support services. 

Overdose Awareness Week provides us an opportunity to recommit ourselves 

to addressing this epidemic. By enhancing our support for individuals facing 

substance use disorder we can save lives. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 29 through 

September 4, 2021, as Overdose Awareness Week. I call upon citizens, 

government agencies, organizations, healthcare providers, and research institutions to raise awareness of substance use disorders to combat stigma, 

to promote treatment and celebrate recovery, and to strengthen our collective 

efforts to prevent overdose deaths. August 31st also marks Overdose Awareness Day, on which our Nation mourns the lives lost to the drug overdose 

epidemic. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 

day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and 

of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-sixth. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19006 

Filed 8–31–21; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3295–F1–P 


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