Bill Text: CA SCR64 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 64 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Drug abuse awareness.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2019-09-09 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 141, Statutes of 2019. [SCR64 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SCR64-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 64

CHAPTER 141

Relative to drug abuse.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 09, 2019. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 64, Bates. Drug abuse awareness.

This measure would designate the month of September 2019 as Opioid, Heroin, Fentanyl, and Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month, as specified.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to conceal pain; and

WHEREAS, Between 2006 and 2012, pharmaceutical companies produced 76 billion opioids that were distributed in the United States; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, more than 21 million opioid prescriptions were written in California; and

WHEREAS, From 1999 to 2017, inclusive, almost 400,000 people died from overdoses related to opioids; and

WHEREAS, In 2017, 47,600 deaths in the United States were caused by a drug overdose involving opioids; and

WHEREAS, Drug overdoses kill more people in one year than do the number of motor vehicle fatalities in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The use of fentanyl is on the rise, with nearly seven times more confiscations of fentanyl from 2012 to 2014, inclusive, totaling 4,585 in 2014, according to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System; and

WHEREAS, Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and

WHEREAS, Aggregate annual costs for prescription opioid overdose, abuse, and dependence were estimated at over $78.5 billion in 2013; and

WHEREAS, Abuse of opioid pain relievers is the strongest risk factor for heroin abuse; and

WHEREAS, Seventy-five percent of new heroin users were first addicted to a legally prescribed prescription opioid; and

WHEREAS, Many teens and young adults first use opioids when they are prescribed to them following an injury or routine procedure like the removal of wisdom teeth; and

WHEREAS, Each day in the United States, 580 people initiate heroin use; and

WHEREAS, Opioid use and misuse can create brain changes that lead to addiction; and

WHEREAS, Most people who are addicted to opioids cannot taper off, or use less of the drug over time, without help; and

WHEREAS, The long-term damage to individuals and families is highly detrimental; and

WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends nonopioid pharmacologic therapy and if opioids are used, they should be combined with nonopioid therapy, as appropriate; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, the federal Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee developed a National Pain Strategy, noting that effective pain care must emphasize shared decisionmaking, informed pain assessment, and integrated, multimodal, and interdisciplinary treatment approaches that balance effectiveness with safety; and

WHEREAS, Each year, a week in September is designated as national Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature designates the month of September 2019 as Opioid, Heroin, Fentanyl, and Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month and encourages residents to show support for opioid and prescription drug awareness; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.