IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1172 
Expressing that fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 13, 2022 
Mr. RYAN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing that fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction. 
Whereas, in 2021, 107,622 people in the United States died 
as a result of synthetic opioids, and synthetic opioids ac-
counted for nearly 66 percent of all opioid-involved 
deaths; 
Whereas data shows illicit fentanyl is now the number one 
cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 
and 45; 
Whereas data shows in the past 2 years, deaths among teen-
age Americans due to illicit fentanyl has more than tri-
pled; 
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•HRES 1172 IH 
Whereas data shows that in the past 2 years, fentanyl poi-
soning deaths have doubled as a whole in the United 
States, and deaths have more than doubled in 30 States; 
Whereas illicit fentanyl is being mass-produced in China and 
shipped overseas to markets in Mexico, Canada, and the 
United States; 
Whereas, in 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protections 
seized 588 pounds of illicit fentanyl which has increased 
by 1,066 percent from fiscal year 2020; 
Whereas, in 2021, the Drug Enforcement Administration 
confiscated 20,400,000 fake prescription pills containing 
fentanyl, mainly produced by Mexico, using chemicals 
sourced largely from China; 
Whereas this amount of fentanyl seized is enough to provide 
a lethal dose to every single American; 
Whereas 1 kilogram of fentanyl has the ability to kill 500,000 
people; 
Whereas approximately 666,666 counterfeit pills can be man-
ufactured from 1 kilogram of pure fentanyl; 
Whereas carfentanil is a derivative of fentanyl and is approxi-
mately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 20 
to 30 times that of fentanyl; 
Whereas carfentanil was used as a chemical weapon in the 
Moscow theater hostage crisis to kill 150 Russians in 
2002; 
Whereas a 2022 report issued by the United States Commis-
sion on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking stated 
‘‘illicit synthetic opioids have the effect of a slow-motion 
weapon of mass destruction in pill form’’; 
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•HRES 1172 IH 
Whereas, in 2019, the Department of Homeland Security 
considered designating fentanyl a weapon of mass de-
struction; and 
Whereas section 2302 of title 50, United States Code, states 
that ‘‘[t]he term ‘weapon of mass destruction’ means any 
weapon or device that is intended, or has the capability, 
to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant 
number of people through the release, dissemination, or 
impact of— 
‘‘(1) toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precur-
sors; 
‘‘(2) a disease organism; or 
‘‘(3) radiation or radioactivity.’’: Now, therefore be 
it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that it is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) recognize that— 
(A) the current approach to combating our 
country’s drug crisis is not sufficient; 
(B) new and bold action is necessary to 
save lives; 
(C) a weapon of mass destruction designa-
tion of illicit fentanyl by the Federal Govern-
ment would empower the Government to go 
after international trafficking syndicates and 
root out illicit manufacturers and traffickers to 
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•HRES 1172 IH 
take action to stop fentanyl from reaching the 
border; and 
(D) a weapon of mass destruction designa-
tion of illicit fentanyl would not hinder the use 
of legal fentanyl or stop ongoing recovery, treat-
ment, and harm-reduction efforts to assist those 
residents of the United States currently suf-
fering from substance use disorder; and 
(2) urge President Biden and the Department 
of Homeland Security to officially designate illicit 
fentanyl and analogues, including carfentanil, as a 
weapon of mass destruction. 
Æ 
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