SCR 1: Urge designation of illicit fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction
The resolution urges the US Congress to introduce and pass legislation that designates illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, and it has become the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. Illicit fentanyl is often distributed through criminal drug markets and is being mixed into counterfeit pills, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine, making it difficult to detect and distinguish from other drugs. This can lead to overdose deaths among people who use only non-opioid drugs. The resolution also cites the dangers of fentanyl, including the death of 117 hostages in Russia in 2002 due to a gas that contained fentanyl-related compounds. The proposed legislation aims to address this public health crisis by designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass de…
| Mar. 05, 2025 | Introduced and Referred to Committee: Community Revitalization |
| Mar. 03, 2025 | Offered |
| Feb. 26, 2025 | Adopted |
| Feb. 25, 2025 | Reported: Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety |
| Jan. 29, 2025 | Referred to committee: Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety |
As Reported by the Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee
136th General Assembly Regular Session 2025-2026
S. C. R. No. 1
Senator Johnson
Cosponsors: Senators Schaffer, Patton, Weinstein
A C O N C U R R E N T R E S O L U T I O N
To urge the 119th Congress to introduce and pass 1
legislation similar to the Stop Our Scourge Act of 2
2023, directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to 3
designate illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass 4
destruction. 5
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO (THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
WHEREAS, According to the United States Drug Enforcement 6
Administration, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid fifty times more 7
potent than heroin and one hundred times more potent than 8
morphine; and 9
WHEREAS, According to data from the Centers for Disease 10
Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl has become the number one 11
cause of death for Americans eighteen to forty-five years of 12
age; and 13
WHEREAS, According to the CDC, pharmaceutical fentanyl is 14
prescribed by physicians and other authorized health care 15
providers to treat severe pain, especially after surgery or for 16
advanced stage cancer, and may also be used as an anesthetic or 17
in other hospital or treatment settings legally; and 18
S. C. R. No. 1 As Reported by the Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee
WHEREAS, Illicit fentanyl, both illegally made fentanyl and 19
diverted pharmaceutical fentanyl, is often distributed through 20
criminal drug markets in different forms, including liquid or 21
powder, making its detection complex and its distinction from 22
other drugs increasingly difficult; and 23
WHEREAS, According to the CDC, fentanyl and drugs similar 24
in chemical structure to fentanyl are being mixed into 25
counterfeit opioid pills, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and 26
methamphetamine, and people who use only non-opioid drugs are 27
more likely to overdose if they are exposed to drugs mixed with 28
opioids, including fentanyl; and 29
WHEREAS, According to the National Center for Health 30
Statistics, overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, 31
primarily fentanyl, were estimated to be 74,702 in 2023; and 32
WHEREAS, According to the Ohio Department of Health, 33
fentanyl was involved in seventy-eight per cent of Ohio's 34
unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2023; and 35
WHEREAS, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 36
seized more than twenty-one thousand pounds of illicit fentanyl 37
in federal fiscal year 2024; and 38
WHEREAS, CBP's fentanyl seizures have increased more than 39
eight hundred per cent since federal fiscal year 2019; and 40
WHEREAS, The dangers of fentanyl are further evidenced by 41
such events as those in 2002 when, in response to Chechen rebels 42
taking over eight hundred hostages in a Moscow theater, Russia 43
deployed an unknown gas, later confirmed by the Russian Health 44
Minister to contain fentanyl-related compounds, to neutralize 45
the rebels, which resulted in the death of 117 hostages from 46
effects of the gas; now therefore be it 47
RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 136th General 48
49
Assembly of the State of Ohio, urge the 119th United States
S. C. R. No. 1 As Reported by the Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee
Congress to introduce and pass legislation that is similar to a 50
previous proposal known as the Stop Our Scourge Act of 2023, 51
directing the United States Secretary of Homeland Security to 52
designate illicit fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction; and be 53
it further 54
RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly 55
authenticated copies of this resolution to the President Pro 56
Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, Speaker and 57
Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, members of 58
the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio. 59