AS PASSED BY SENATE S.104
2023 Page 1 of 2
1 S.104
2 An act relating to designating August 31 as Overdose Awareness Day
3 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
4 Sec. 1. FINDINGS
5 The General Assembly finds:
6 (1) According to the Vermont Department of Health:
7 (A) from 2020 to 2021, opioid-related fatal overdoses among
8 Vermonters rose 33 percent from 158 to 210;
9 (B) 93 percent of the 2021 deaths involved the use of fentanyl;
10 (C) from January through October 2022, there were 190 opioid-
11 related fatal overdoses of which 179 involved fentanyl; and
12 (D) since 2014, over 47,000 naloxone rescue kits have been
13 distributed to Vermonters as an overdose prevention measure.
14 (2) International Overdose Awareness Day is observed on
15 August 31 of each year to raise awareness of drug overdoses, to reduce the
16 associated stigma, and to acknowledge the grief of the families and friends of
17 persons who have experienced a drug overdose.
18 (3) Designating Overdose Awareness Day as a Vermont
19 commemorative day recognizes the importance of each person who has
20 experienced a drug overdose, and it reminds Vermonters that death due to a
21 drug overdose is preventable.
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 AS PASSED BY SENATE S.104
2023 Page 2 of 2
1 Sec. 2. 1 V.S.A. § 378 is added to read:
2 § 378. OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY
3 August 31 of each year is designated as Overdose Awareness Day.
4 Sec. 3. 1 V.S.A. § 496f is added to read:
5 § 496f. FLAG PROTOCOL; OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY
6 The Department of Buildings and General Services shall direct, in the flag-
7 flying protocol established in section 496d of this title, that the Vermont State
8 flag shall be flown at half-staff on all State-owned flagpoles on August 31 each
9 year in observance of Overdose Awareness Day.
10 Sec. 4. PROSPECTIVE REPEAL
11 1 V.S.A § 378 (Overdose Awareness Day) and 1 V.S.A. § 496f (flag
12 protocol; Overdose Awareness Day) are repealed effective September 1, 2033.
13 Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE
14 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023.
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