Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0824
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Full Text of HR0824  98th General Assembly

HR0824 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to encourage schools to educate youth on
4the dangers of heroin; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Heroin is one of the most dangerous and addictive
6substances and its surge in use among teenagers demands
7immediate action; and
 
8    WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control,
9deaths from drug overdose, especially from heroin, have been
10rising steadily over the past 2 decades and have become the
11leading cause of injury and death in the United States,
12especially in rural areas; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The number of people who say they have used heroin
14in the last year has jumped 53.5% from 2002 to 2011; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Drug overdose death rates have been rising
16steadily since 1992, with a 102% increase from 1999 to 2010
17alone; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Every day in the United States, 105 people die as
19a results of drug overdose; another 6,748 people are treated in
20emergency departments for the misuse or abuse of drugs; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, According to "Heroin Use in Illinois: A Ten-year
2Multiple Indicator Analysis", the Chicago metropolitan area
3was ranked among the worst nationally for heroin-related
4problems, including ranking first in the number of individuals
5admitted to the emergency room for heroin abuse and first in
6percentage of arrests testing positive for heroin; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The study found a large increase in deaths from
8heroin overdoses in the collar counties, including a 130%
9increase in Lake County from 2000 to 2009, a 150% increase in
10McHenry County in a 3-year period, a doubling of heroin related
11deaths in Will County in a period of 2 years, and a total of 78
12heroin-related deaths in DuPage County over a 3-year period,
13indicating that heroin remains a problem in DuPage County; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The study also found the increase in suburban
15heroin abuse has resulted from increased heroin use among
16teens, including a 27% increase in suburban Cook County and a
1746% increase in the collar counties; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In 2008, over 100 individuals in the Chicago
19Metropolitan Area under the age of 35 died from a heroin
20overdose; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Heroin has become the second most common drug

 

 

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1after alcohol and the most common illegal substance for which
2individuals enter treatment in Illinois, compared to the fourth
3most common reason Illinoisans entered publicly-funded
4treatment in 1998; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Heroin abuse destroys lives and tears entire
6communities apart; therefore, be it
 
7    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
9we urge all schools in the State of Illinois to educate youth
10about the dangers associated with the use of heroin and the
11escalating numbers of accidental deaths due to heroin
12overdoses; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we state the opinion that comprehensive drug
14education programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance
15Education (DARE) program, serve as valuable tools in presenting
16the facts and dangers related to heroin use to Illinois youth;
17and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we encourage schools to especially
19encourage awareness on Illinois Heroin Abuse Awareness Day on
20November 4, 2014.