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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Heroin is an illegal and highly addictive drug
3that is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the
4opiates; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Heroin was first synthesized in 1874 from
6morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the
7seed pods of certain varieties of poppy plants; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish
9powder or as the black sticky substance known as "black tar
10heroin"; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Although purer heroin is becoming more common,
12most heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such
13as sugar, starch, and powdered milk, as well as strychnine or
14other poisons; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Because heroin abusers do not know the actual
16strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of
17overdose and death; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Heroin also poses special problems because of
19transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from
20sharing needles or other injection equipment, and because of

 

 

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1the medical and social consequences of abuse, including fetal
2effects, crime, violence, and disruptions to the family,
3workplace, and educational environments; and
 
4    WHEREAS, According to "Heroin Use in Illinois: A Ten-Year
5Multiple Indicator Analysis, 1998 to 2008", the Chicago
6metropolitan area ranked among the worst nationally for
7heroin-related problems, including ranking first in the number
8of individuals admitted to the emergency room for heroin abuse
9and first in the percentage of arrestees testing positive for
10heroin; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The study also found a large increase in deaths
12from heroin overdoses in the collar counties, including a 130%
13increase in Lake County from 2000 to 2009, a 150% increase in
14McHenry County in just a three-year period, a doubling of
15heroin-related deaths in Will County in a period of just two
16years, and a total of 78 heroin-related deaths in DuPage County
17over a three-year period, indicating that heroin remains a
18continuing problem in DuPage County; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The study also found the increase in suburban
20heroin abuse has resulted from increased heroin use among
21teens, including a 27% increase in suburban Cook County and a
2246% increase in the collar counties; in 2008, over 100
23individuals in the Chicago Metropolitan Area under the age of

 

 

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135 died from heroin overdose; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Heroin has become the second most common drug
3after alcohol and the most common illegal substance for which
4individuals enter treatment in Illinois, compared to the fourth
5most common reason Illinoisans entered publicly-funded
6treatment in 1998; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9we urge the citizens of the State of Illinois, especially the
10parents of Illinois youth, to become aware of the dangers
11associated with the use of heroin and the escalating number of
12accidental deaths due to heroin overdoses; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we find that comprehensive drug education
14programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)
15program, serve as valuable tools in presenting the facts and
16dangers related to heroin use to Illinois youth; and be it
17further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we designate the date of November 4, 2011 as
19Heroin Abuse Awareness Day in the State of Illinois in
20conjunction with National Drug Facts Week from October 31 -
21November 6, 2011.