September 2021: Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month

WHEREAS, substance use disorder is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the individual and those around them. Substance use disorder is a brain disease that changes the structure and function of the brain as a result of drug and alcohol misuse; and, 

WHEREAS, the United States is experiencing an opioid epidemic, with opioid overdoses killing nearly 48,000 people per year. An opioid can be a prescription drug, or an illicit substance such as heroin; and,  

WHEREAS, use of tobacco, alcohol, prescription opioids, and illicit drugs is costly to our nation, exacting approximately $820.5 billion dollars annually and growing in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and health care; and, 

WHEREAS, annually, illicit drug use costs the United States approximately $193 billion dollars, prescription opioids overdose and dependence costs approximately $78.5 billion dollars, tobacco use costs approximately $300 billion dollars, and excessive?alcohol use costs approximately $249 billion dollars; and, 

WHEREAS, in total, approximately $232 billion dollars in direct health care costs is associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol, prescription opioids and illicit drugs; and,  

WHEREAS, in the long-term, substance use disorder may lead to detrimental mental and physical effects such as paranoia, psychosis, immune deficiencies, and organ damage that will require treatment to resolve; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, the majority of publicly funded substance abuse treatment admissions among youth ages 12 to 17 recorded marijuana as the primary substance of abuse and 56,000 (7.4 percent) of youth statewide ages 12 to 17 reported current marijuana use; and,  

WHEREAS, in 2019, 7.2 percent of veterans in Michigan had a substance use disorder within the past year; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, over 1.3 million people in Michigan, ages 12 and older, had abused an illicit drug in the past month; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, 615,000 individuals ages 12 and older in Michigan needed treatment for illicit substance or alcohol use - 7.3 percent of the population; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, 213,000 individuals ages 12 and older needed treatment for illicit drug use but did not receive it; and 461,000 individuals aged 12 and older needed treatment for alcohol use but did not receive it; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, 429,000 (6.6 percent) non-Hispanic White Michiganders needed treatment for illicit drug or alcohol use but did not receive it; 87,000 (7.9 percent) non-Hispanic Black Michiganders needed treatment for illicit drug or alcohol use but did not receive it; and 35,000 (8.8 percent) Hispanic Michiganders needed treatment for illicit drug or alcohol use but did not receive it; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, opioids (including prescription and illicit opioids) were linked to 75 percent of drug overdose deaths in Michigan; and, 

WHEREAS, in 2019, 2,354 overdose deaths in Michigan were recorded; and provisional data indicated 2,684 overdose deaths in 2020; and, 

WHEREAS, like other chronic and relapsing diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, substance use disorder can be managed successfully; and, 

WHEREAS, today, when individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders seek help, they are met with the knowledge and belief that anyone can recover and/or manage their conditions successfully; and, 

WHEREAS, support for telehealth services has enabled thousands of Michiganders to engage safely in substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery support services that would have otherwise been inaccessible; and, 

WHEREAS, initiation of Medication Assisted Treatment to individuals seeking medical help through emergency departments for accidental overdose and withdrawal from substances has been implemented in multiple hospital systems across the state; and, 

WHEREAS, organizations across the state have distributed more than 185,000 doses of naloxone, and harm reduction services promote a pathway to safety and recovery for individuals and communities; and, 

WHEREAS, a person's treatment and recovery is built on his or her strengths, talents, coping abilities, and resources. It addresses the whole person and their community and is supported by peers, friends, and family members; and, 

WHEREAS, during this month, we join with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and various community networks to celebrate recovery and raise awareness of recovery-oriented systems of care working to prevent and treat substance use disorders in our state;  

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan, hereby proclaim September 2021 as Alcohol and Drug Addiction and Prevention Month in Michigan.??