WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues introduced a resolution designating today, May 7, 2024, as National Fentanyl Awareness Day. The resolution – led by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) – aims to underscore and inform the public about the dangers of counterfeit fentanyl pills.
“West Virginia has felt the deadly consequences of the addiction crisis directly, and many of those scars remain with our communities and our families. Fentanyl and counterfeit fentanyl pills have largely contributed this destruction, which is why efforts need to continue to increase awareness and stop these drugs from flowing into our communities entirely,” Senator Capito said.
BACKGROUND:
Drug overdose deaths have surged in recent years, with 109,000 recorded deaths over a twelve-month period from November 2022 to November 2023. This is largely due to the proliferation of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2023 seized more than 79.5 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills, up 37 percent from 2022. The agency estimates 70% of these laced pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
Drug traffickers often market counterfeit fentanyl pills to young Americans through social media. Illicit fentanyl is involved in more youth deaths than all other drug types combined. At the end of 2022, only 48% of American youth was aware of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills.
Full text of the resolution can be found here.
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