[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4785-S4786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SENATE RESOLUTION 293--DESIGNATING JUNE 26, 2021, AS THE 
    ``INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING''

  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:

                              S. Res. 293

       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;

[[Page S4786]]

       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''.

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