(720 ILCS 570/100) (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 1100)
Sec. 100. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the General Assembly, recognizing the rising
incidence in the abuse of drugs and other dangerous substances and its
resultant damage to the peace, health, and welfare of the citizens of
Illinois, to provide a system of control over the distribution and use of
controlled substances which will more effectively: (1) limit access of such
substances only to those persons who have demonstrated an appropriate sense
of responsibility and have a lawful and legitimate reason to possess them;
(2) deter the unlawful and destructive abuse of controlled substances; (3)
penalize most heavily the illicit traffickers or profiteers of controlled
substances, who propagate and perpetuate the abuse of such substances with
reckless disregard for its consumptive consequences upon every element of
society; (4) acknowledge the functional and consequential differences
between the various types of controlled substances and provide for
correspondingly different degrees of control over each of the various
types; (5) unify where feasible and codify the efforts of this State to
conform with the regulatory systems of the Federal government; and (6) provide law enforcement authorities with
the necessary resources to make this system efficacious.
It is not the intent of the General Assembly to treat the unlawful user
or occasional petty distributor of controlled substances with the same
severity as the large-scale, unlawful purveyors and traffickers of
controlled substances.
However, it is recognized that persons who violate this Act with respect to
the manufacture, delivery, possession with intent to deliver, or possession of
more than one type of controlled substance listed herein may accordingly
receive multiple convictions and sentences under each Section of this Act.
To this end, guidelines have been provided, along
with a wide latitude in sentencing discretion, to enable the sentencing
court to order penalties in each case which are appropriate for the
purposes of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 97-334, eff. 1-1-12.)
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