WASHINGTON – The Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating August 21, 2023 as Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) co-led the legislation. 

“Fentanyl overdoses are taking a tragic toll on families. I’m working to tackle the illegal production and distribution of this deadly drug from multiple directions: through legislation to close loopholes and by putting pressure on the administration to enforce the laws, hold adversaries like China accountable and secure the southern border. Driving awareness about the fentanyl flooding our communities adds momentum to our efforts to end this devastating epidemic,” Grassley said.

“Too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to a fentanyl overdose,” Feinstein said. “Those deaths are often the result of people unknowingly using fentanyl that has been made to look like a prescription drug. With fentanyl-related deaths rising each year, our resolution will hopefully save lives by raising awareness of the dangers of this drug.” 

In April, Grassley hosted a?roundtable?in Cedar Rapids to discuss the ties between organized retail crime and the illicit drug trade. Last October in Des Moines, Grassley convened a hearing of the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control?and heard courageous testimony from Iowa families who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning. Grassley also reintroduced the bipartisan?Stop Pills that Kill Act this Congress. The bill would apply the penalties for possessing paraphernalia used to manufacture meth to those for possessing paraphernalia used to make counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and fentanyl analogues.

The resolution’s passage follows reports the Biden State Department discussed lifting sanctions on the Chinese Communist Party to incentivize its cooperation on stopping the flow of Chinese-manufactured fentanyl precursors into the United States. Grassley slammed the administration’s proposal, saying the policy is “a further cultivation of a failed strategy of appeasement with our adversaries” and “makes a mockery of the drug epidemic facing our nation.” In May, Grassley sent a?letter?to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Washington calling for an end to illicit fentanyl production in the PRC.?

Background:

Overdose deaths have skyrocketed in recent years, largely due to the influx of fentanyl – a synthetic opioid – being mixed into illicit drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last year seized more than 58.4 million fentanyl-laced fake pills. The agency estimates over 40 percent of illicit pills contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Further, in an analysis of prescription pills laced with fentanyl, the DEA determined six out of every 10 contain potentially lethal doses.

In the 12-month period ending in January 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported drug overdoses killed more than 107,000 individuals nationwide. Over two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl.

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