WHEREAS, started in 2001 and recognized annually on August 31, International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event to remember those who have lost their lives to drug overdoses, to raise awareness of overdoses, to reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths, and to acknowledge the grief felt by families and friends; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, over 107,000 individuals died in the United States from drug overdoses, including 631 individuals here in Maine; and

WHEREAS, the state of Maine has distributed over 200,000 doses of the life-saving drug Naloxone to date, resulting in more than 3,500 lives saved; and

WHEREAS, there are now available in Maine many types of treatment for substance use disorder, as well as robust harm-reduction activities and recovery support programs; and

WHEREAS, as part of the state’s OPTIONS program, Maine has dispatched behavioral health specialists in all sixteen counties to engage with people using drugs and connect them with harm-reduction services or pathways to recovery; and

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented stress on Maine people of all ages, leading to increases in alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, and other risky behavior; and

WHEREAS, as we have seen global solidarity and shared responsibility with the COVID-19 pandemic, we must also respond globally to reduce the harm associated with substance use disorders;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby recognize August 31, 2022 as

International Overdose Awareness Day

throughout the state, and I and encourage all citizens to take part in activities and observances designed to remember those we have lost, to increase awareness of drug overdoses, and to join the global effort to reduce the death toll associated with drug overdoses.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this twenty ninth day of August Two Thousand Twenty-Two