A resolution expressing support for the designation of February 23, 2025, to March 1, 2025, as "National Fentanyl Awareness Week" and raising awareness of the negative impacts of fentanyl in the United States.
This is a Senate resolution (S. Res. 95) introduced in the 119th Congress. It expresses support for designating February 23, 2025, through March 1, 2025, as “National Fentanyl Awareness Week” and for raising awareness about the negative impacts of fentanyl in the United States. The resolution lays out a broad backdrop of overdose fatalities and the dangers of fentanyl, including its potency, the illicit manufacture and distribution of fentanyl-laced pills, and the scale of law enforcement seizures. It concludes with nonbinding, supportive statements: praising law enforcement and treatment/recovery groups, encouraging people to use only physician-prescribed medications, urging those with substance use disorder to seek help, and designating the stated week as National Fentanyl Awareness Week. As a resolution, it does not create new law or funding; its impact is primarily symbolic and informational, aimed at boosting public awareness and political support for anti-fentanyl efforts.
Key Points
- 1Designation of National Fentanyl Awareness Week: February 23, 2025, through March 1, 2025, to raise public awareness about fentanyl’s dangers.
- 2Emphasis on the scope of the fentanyl crisis: overdose deaths, potency (fentanyl is said to be 50 times more potent than heroin), and the role of illicit fentanyl in fake/pill counterfeit drugs.
- 3Information on trafficking and production: illicit fentanyl often manufactured in secret facilities in Mexico with chemicals from China; widespread drug trafficking and the potential for fentanyl to be found in street drugs like cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
- 4Public health and safety context: deadly doses can be as little as less than 2 milligrams; large-scale seizures by federal agencies (DEA and CBP) in 2024 highlighting the scope of the problem.
- 5Nonbinding, supportive actions: the resolution applauds law enforcement and treatment/recovery organizations, encourages use of physician-prescribed medications, and urges those with substance use disorder to seek help.