Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) led 45 bipartisan Senators in reintroducing a resolution to designate May 9th, 2023 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day. The resolution seeks to raise awareness about the increase in counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl that are flooding communities across the nation and encourages authorities to stop and prevent the spread of counterfeit pills.
“In the last year, more than 106,000 Americans and 1,400 West Virginians died from drug related overdoses,” said Senator Manchin. “Fentanyl has displaced opioids and heroin as the leading cause of drug related overdose deaths, and it is heartbreaking to lose so many of our fellow Americans and West Virginians to this devastating epidemic. I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan resolution to raise awareness about the increase in counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl, and I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to combat the drug epidemic that continues to ravage our nation.”
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has reported that six out of every ten pills tested by DEA contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. The number of pills seized since 2019 is up 502%, totaling more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills. 50 million counterfeit pills were seized by the DEA within the last year, which represents 379 million doses of illicit fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl continues to be a major driver in deaths among youths, but also for a growing population of older adults who may be taking fentanyl without knowing.
Senator Manchin was joined by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Todd Young (R-IN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Kennedy (R-LA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Steve Daines (R-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), James Risch (R-ID), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Gary Peters (D-MI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
A timeline of Senator Manchin’s work to combat the drug epidemic is available here.
The text of the resolution is available here.