Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week, 2016

Proclamation 9499 of September 16, 2016

Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness
Week, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year, more Americans die from drug overdoses than
in traffic accidents, and more than three out of five
of these deaths involve an opioid. Since 1999, the
number of overdose deaths involving opioids, including
prescription opioid pain relievers, heroin, and
fentanyl, has nearly quadrupled. Many people who die
from an overdose struggle with an opioid use disorder
or other substance use disorder, and unfortunately
misconceptions surrounding these disorders have
contributed to harmful stigmas that prevent individuals
from seeking evidence-based treatment. During
Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week,
we pause to remember all those we have lost to opioid
use disorder, we stand with the courageous individuals
in recovery, and we recognize the importance of raising
awareness of this epidemic.

Opioid use disorder, or addiction to prescription
opioids or heroin, is a disease that touches too many
of our communities--big and small, urban and rural--and
devastates families, all while straining the capacity
of law enforcement and the health care system. States
and localities across our country, in collaboration
with Federal and national partners, are working
together to address this issue through innovative
partnerships between public safety and public health
professionals. The Federal Government is bolstering
efforts to expand treatment and opioid abuse prevention
activities, and we are working alongside law
enforcement to help get more people into treatment
instead of jail.

My Administration is steadfast in its commitment to
reduce overdose deaths and get more Americans the help
they need. That is why I continue to call on the
Congress to provide $1.1 billion to expand access to
treatment services for opioid use disorder. These new
investments would build on the steps we have already
taken to expand overdose prevention strategies, and
increase access to naloxone--the overdose reversal drug
that first responders and community members are using
to save lives. We are also working to improve opioid
prescribing practices and support targeted enforcement
activities. Although Federal agencies will continue
using all available tools to address opioid use
disorder and overdose, the Congress must act quickly to
help more individuals get the treatment they need--
because the longer we go without congressional action
on this funding, the more opportunities we miss to save
lives.

Too often, we expect people struggling with substance
use disorders to self-diagnose and seek treatment. And
although we have made great strides in helping more
Americans access care, far too many still lack
appropriate, evidence-based treatment. This week, we
reaffirm our commitment to raising awareness about this
disease and supporting prevention and treatment
programs. Let us ensure everyone with an opioid use
disorder can embark on the road to recovery, and
together, let us begin to turn the tide of this
epidemic.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim
September 18 through September 24, 2016, as
Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week.
I call upon all Americans to observe this week with
appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that
raise awareness about the prescription opioid and
heroin epidemic.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two
thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-first.