    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 133, 116th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 9923 of September 6, 2019

    Opioid Crisis Awareness Week, 2019

    By the President of the United States of America

    A Proclamation

    The opioid crisis has devastated communities across America and has
    stolen precious lives, leaving families with an unfillable void. During
    Opioid Crisis Awareness Week, we reaffirm our commitment to ending this
    terrible crisis and eradicating drug addiction from our society.

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    On average, 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. Drug
    overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States,
    and opioids are the most common drug used in cases of drug overdose.
    Since the start of the 21st century, our Nation has lost nearly the same
    number of lives to the opioid crisis as we lost in World War II.
    My Administration is taking aggressive action to address this nationwide
    public health emergency. In 2018, our High Intensity Drug Trafficking
    Area program disrupted or dismantled nearly 3,000 drug trafficking
    organizations. During that operation, the Department of Justice seized
    enough fentanyl to kill more than 100,000 Americans out of our
    communities. Additionally, I released my Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse
    and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, which is preventing over-
    prescription, reducing the demand for drugs through education and
    awareness, and cutting off the flow of illicit drugs across our borders
    and into American communities. As a part of this Initiative, we are
    working with State and local partners to expand access to evidence-based
    addiction treatment in every part of our country. Further, I signed the
    bipartisan H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes
    Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities
    Act, the largest legislative effort ever to address a single drug crisis
    in our Nation's history. This law is expanding access to evidence-based
    treatment, protecting our communities from illicit drugs, investing more
    in sustained recovery, bringing those in treatment and recovery back
    into the workforce, and raising awareness of the dangers of illicitly
    imported synthetic opioids.
    My Administration is determined to use every resource at our disposal to
    release the grip of addiction plaguing our citizens. This month, the
    Department of Health and Human Services announced $1.8 billion in new
    grant money to fight the opioid epidemic. These funds will be delivered
    to communities where help is most needed and will support State and
    local governments in obtaining high-quality, comprehensive data to save
    lives. Moreover, in order to break the cycle of addiction, we must
    prevent young Americans from ever trying drugs in the first place. To
    help succeed in this important cause, we launched a nationwide public ad
    campaign to educate young people about the dangers of misusing
    prescription opioids. This campaign has already reached 58 percent of
    young adults. These critical actions, combined with the record $6
    billion in new funding I secured during my first 2 years in office to
    fuel the response to this crisis, are leading to results. Provisional
    data shows we are making progress, with overdose deaths declining for
    the first time since 1990.
    It is crucial to remove the societal stigma surrounding those suffering
    from opioid use and other substance use disorders by approaching
    addiction as a treatable disease. We need to make it clear that
    treatment is available and effective, and that recovery is possible.
    Already, we are seeing encouraging progress toward ensuring that those
    struggling with addiction receive evidence-based treatment in order to
    begin the road to recovery. In 2018, 250,000 more Americans received
    medication-assisted treatment than in 2016. Through The Crisis Next Door
    platform, which my Administration launched last year, those who have
    been affected by the opioid crisis can help encourage other people
    struggling with addiction to seek the care they need.

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    As we observe Opioid Crisis Awareness Week, we strengthen our resolve to
    win the fight against the opioid epidemic. Together, we will ensure that
    all Americans have the opportunity for a brighter future, free from the
    oppression of drug addiction.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 September 8 through
    September 14, 2019, as Opioid Crisis Awareness Week. I call upon my
    fellow Americans to observe this week with appropriate programs,
    ceremonies, religious services, and other activities that raise
    awareness about the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic and to
    consider concrete follow-up activities.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of
    September, in the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
    fourth.
    DONALD J. TRUMP