Full Text of HR0270 100th General Assembly
HR0270 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Heroin is an illegal and highly addictive drug | 3 | | that is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the | 4 | | opiates; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Heroin was first synthesized in 1874 from | 6 | | morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the | 7 | | seed pods of certain varieties of poppy plants; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Heroin is typically sold as a white or brownish | 9 | | powder or as the black sticky substance known as "black tar | 10 | | heroin"; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Although purer heroin is becoming more common, | 12 | | most heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such | 13 | | as sugar, starch, and powdered milk, as well as strychnine or | 14 | | other poisons; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Because heroin abusers do not know the actual | 16 | | strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of | 17 | | overdose and death; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Heroin also poses special problems because of | 19 | | transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from | 20 | | sharing needles or other injection equipment, and because of |
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| 1 | | the medical and social consequences of abuse, including fetal | 2 | | effects, crime, violence, and disruptions to the family, | 3 | | workplace, and educational environments; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Public | 5 | | Health, there are more than 1,700 Illinois citizens per year | 6 | | that overdose on drugs, with 42% of those overdoses directly | 7 | | related to heroin; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the efforts to fight the heroin | 9 | | epidemic, Cook County alone confirmed more than 500 heroin | 10 | | overdose cases in 2016; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Despite efforts to combat the use of heroin, | 12 | | DuPage County saw a record 59 confirmed heroin-related deaths | 13 | | in 2013; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Heroin has become the second most common drug | 15 | | after alcohol and the most common illegal substance for which | 16 | | individuals enter treatment in Illinois, compared to the fourth | 17 | | most common reason Illinoisans entered publicly-funded | 18 | | treatment in 1998; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 21 | | urge the citizens of the State of Illinois, especially the |
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| 1 | | parents of Illinois youth, to become aware of the dangers | 2 | | associated with the use of heroin and the escalating number of | 3 | | accidental deaths due to heroin overdoses; and be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That we find that comprehensive drug education | 5 | | programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) | 6 | | program, serve as valuable tools in presenting the facts and | 7 | | dangers related to heroin use to Illinois youth; and be it | 8 | | further | 9 | | RESOLVED, That we designate the date of November 4 in 2017 | 10 | | and 2018 as Heroin Abuse Awareness Day in the State of | 11 | | Illinois.
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