Bill Text: VA HJR114 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Drug-free Pain Management Awareness Month; designating as September 2018, and each succeeding year.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-05 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ114ER) [HJR114 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HJR114-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, the overuse and abuse of prescription opioid painkillers has become a national and statewide crisis; and
WHEREAS, drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015; and
WHEREAS, opioid addiction is driving this epidemic, with 20,101 overdose deaths related to opioid-based prescription pain relievers in 2015; and
WHEREAS, dozens of people continue to die each day from the abuse of prescription opioids like oxycodone, hydrocodone, methadone, and fentanyl, and a majority of heroin users report using prescription opioids prior to heroin; and
WHEREAS, prescription opioids are often recommended for the management of lower back, neck, and musculoskeletal pain; more than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, and 75 to 85 percent of Americans will experience some form of back pain in their lifetime; and
WHEREAS, chiropractic care and other drug-free forms of health care and pain management must play a major role in helping to ease the immense burden of this crisis; and
WHEREAS, chiropractors are trained and educated to effectively address spinal and musculoskeletal conditions with nonsurgical, evidence-based, and drug-free pain management; chiropractic care yields improved clinical outcomes, reduced costs, and high levels of patient satisfaction; and
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth has been hit hard by this epidemic, and the Virginia Department of Health has made it a high priority to combat this health emergency carefully and comprehensively; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate September, in 2018 and in each succeeding year, as Drug-free Pain Management Awareness Month in Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association so that members of the organization may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it
RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this month on the General Assembly's website.
