Amended in Assembly April 15, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8

Introduced by Senator DeSaulnier

(Coauthors: Senators begin insert Block, Cannella, Correa, end insert Hancock, begin insert Hill, end insert Lieu, begin delete and Price end delete begin insert Monning, Pavley, end insert begin insert Price, Walters, and Wolk end insert )

begin insert

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Bloom, Blumenfield, Brown, Fox, Nestande, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk-Silva, Salas, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, and Wilk)

end insert

January 14, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 8—Relative to Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 8, as amended, DeSaulnier. Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of March, each year, as Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month and encourage all citizens to participate in prevention programs and activities and to pledge to “Spread the Word ... One Pill Can Kill.”

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, In 2008, drug overdoses in the United States caused
36,450 deaths and 20,044 of these were from prescription drug
overdoses; and

WHEREAS, Overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers
(OPR) have increased and now exceed deaths involving heroin
and cocaine combined; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, 1.2 million emergency department visits
were related to misuse or abuse of pharmaceuticals (an increase
of 98.4 percent since 2004); and

WHEREAS, Nonmedical use of OPR costs insurance companies
up to $72.5 billion annually in health care costs; and

WHEREAS, By 2010, enough prescription painkillers were sold
to medicate every American adult with a typical dose of five
milligrams of hydrocodone every four hours for one month; and

WHEREAS, In 2010, 2 million people reported using
prescription painkillers nonmedically for the first time within the
last year--nearly 5,500 a day; and

WHEREAS, As many as 70 percent of people who abuse
prescription drugs get them from a relative or friend instead of a
doctor; and

WHEREAS, The National Coalition Against Prescription Drug
Abuse, in cooperation with law enforcement agencies,
community-based organizations, alcohol and other drug service
providers, and civic and business leaders, coordinates Prescription
Drug Abuse Awareness Month activities to offer our citizens the
opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to campaigns and
education aimed at raising awareness about the abuse and misuse
of prescription drugs, promoting safe storage and disposal of
prescription drugs, and using medications only as prescribed; and

WHEREAS, Families, schools, businesses, faith-based
communities, law enforcement, medical professionals, county and
local governments, health care practitioners, pharmacists, and the
general public throughout the state will demonstrate their
commitment to the prevention of prescription medication abuse
by participating in activities intended to highlight local efforts
during the month of March; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the month of March, each year, is hereby
begin delete be end delete proclaimed to be Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Month
and that all citizens are encouraged to participate in prevention
programs and activities and to pledge to “Spread the Word … One
Pill Can Kill”; and be it further

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