[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 48885-48886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19006]


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

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 48885]]

                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 methamphetamine-related 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

[[Page 48886]]

                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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-19006
Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P