| 1 | 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 719 |
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| 2 | 2 | | WHEREAS, Fentanyl Victims Remembrance Day is taking place |
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| 3 | 3 | | on September 23, 2023; and |
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| 4 | 4 | | WHEREAS, A highly addictive synthetic opioid, fentanyl has |
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| 5 | 5 | | fueled an alarming increase in overdose deaths, and it has |
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| 6 | 6 | | impacted communities across the nation, from large metropolitan |
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| 7 | 7 | | areas to rural counties; among Americans under the age of 50, the |
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| 8 | 8 | | drug is involved in a greater number of deaths than any other |
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| 9 | 9 | | cause, proving more lethal than cancer, heart disease, homicide, |
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| 10 | 10 | | or suicide; as little as two milligrams of fentanyl is a |
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| 11 | 11 | | potentially deadly dose, especially for individuals who do not |
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| 12 | 12 | | have a tolerance to opioids; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and |
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| 14 | 14 | | Prevention, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were involved in |
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| 15 | 15 | | 67 percent of the more than 107,000 drug overdose and drug |
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| 16 | 16 | | poisoning deaths in the 12-month period ending in January 2022; |
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| 17 | 17 | | in some cases, the deaths were attributed to fentanyl mixed with |
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| 18 | 18 | | other substances, and many users were unaware that they were |
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| 19 | 19 | | taking fentanyl; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Each year, September 23 is set aside to honor and |
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| 21 | 21 | | remember all victims who tragically lost their lives to fentanyl |
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| 22 | 22 | | poisoning, to encourage support for their loved ones, and to warn |
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| 23 | 23 | | the public about the dangers posed by the drug; the observance is |
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| 24 | 24 | | led by fentanyl awareness organizations, community response |
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| 25 | 25 | | teams, and affected families; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, More work remains to be done to assist the |
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| 27 | 27 | | individuals and communities impacted by fentanyl use, and |
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| 28 | 28 | | Fentanyl Victims Remembrance Day provides a fitting opportunity |
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| 29 | 29 | | to affirm our commitment to combatting this deadly drug threat; |
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| 30 | 30 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 31 | 31 | | RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th |
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| 32 | 32 | | Legislature, hereby recognize September 23, 2023, as Fentanyl |
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| 33 | 33 | | Victims Remembrance Day and pay tribute to the memory of all |
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| 34 | 34 | | those who have died from fentanyl poisoning. |
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| 35 | 35 | | Menéndez |
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| 36 | 36 | | ________________________________ |
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| 37 | 37 | | President of the Senate |
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| 38 | 38 | | I hereby certify that the |
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| 39 | 39 | | above Resolution was adopted by |
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| 40 | 40 | | the Senate on May 28, 2023. |
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| 41 | 41 | | ________________________________ |
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| 42 | 42 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 43 | 43 | | ________________________________ |
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| 44 | 44 | | Member, Texas Senate |
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