Sponsors (17)
Designates June 6, 2025 as National Naloxone Awareness Day and urges public education, increased access to naloxone, and continued Federal agency support for harm reduction and overdose prevention. It emphasizes that naloxone is a safe, effective opioid overdose reversal medicine and frames the day as an opportunity for governments, nonprofits, health workers, first responders, and communities to promote training, distribution, and awareness.
The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities across the United States and causes significant loss of life and societal impact.
Opioid overdoses during the 12 months preceding December of 2024 claimed a reported 54,101 lives in the United States.
Fatal overdoses are often witnessed by a bystander.
In 2024, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 380,000,000 doses of potentially deadly fentanyl, an amount described as enough to kill every individual in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl-related poisonings are a leading cause of death for individuals in the United States between 18 and 44 years of age.
Primary impacts are symbolic and programmatic rather than regulatory or financial. Communities affected by opioid use and overdose (people with substance use disorders, their families, and bystanders) may see increased outreach, training, and potentially easier access to naloxone as public awareness rises. First responders and health care providers could benefit from clearer public messaging and community willingness to carry or administer naloxone. Federal, state, and local agencies and nonprofit organizations are encouraged to coordinate and allocate resources; however, the resolution does not require agencies to provide funding or create new programs. The likely near-term effects are increased education campaigns, events on the designated day, and possible local expansion of naloxone distribution by existing programs. Long-term impacts depend on whether jurisdictions follow through with resource commitments and programmatic changes. The resolution may also reduce stigma by normalizing naloxone use and harm-reduction approaches, but it does not change legal liabilities, prescribing rules, or insurance coverage directly.
Last progress June 10, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 10, 2025 by Richard Lynn Scott
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent.