Full Text of HR0824 98th General Assembly
HR0824 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0824 | | LRB098 17319 GRL 54534 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to encourage schools to educate youth on | 4 | | the dangers of heroin; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Heroin is one of the most dangerous and addictive | 6 | | substances and its surge in use among teenagers demands | 7 | | immediate action; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control, | 9 | | deaths from drug overdose, especially from heroin, have been | 10 | | rising steadily over the past 2 decades and have become the | 11 | | leading cause of injury and death in the United States, | 12 | | especially in rural areas; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The number of people who say they have used heroin | 14 | | in the last year has jumped 53.5% from 2002 to 2011; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Drug overdose death rates have been rising | 16 | | steadily since 1992, with a 102% increase from 1999 to 2010 | 17 | | alone; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Every day in the United States, 105 people die as | 19 | | a results of drug overdose; another 6,748 people are treated in | 20 | | emergency departments for the misuse or abuse of drugs; and
|
| | | HR0824 | - 2 - | LRB098 17319 GRL 54534 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, According to "Heroin Use in Illinois: A Ten-year | 2 | | Multiple Indicator Analysis", the Chicago metropolitan area | 3 | | was ranked among the worst nationally for heroin-related | 4 | | problems, including ranking first in the number of individuals | 5 | | admitted to the emergency room for heroin abuse and first in | 6 | | percentage of arrests testing positive for heroin; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The study found a large increase in deaths from | 8 | | heroin overdoses in the collar counties, including a 130% | 9 | | increase in Lake County from 2000 to 2009, a 150% increase in | 10 | | McHenry County in a 3-year period, a doubling of heroin related | 11 | | deaths in Will County in a period of 2 years, and a total of 78 | 12 | | heroin-related deaths in DuPage County over a 3-year period, | 13 | | indicating that heroin remains a problem in DuPage County; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, The study also found the increase in suburban | 15 | | heroin abuse has resulted from increased heroin use among | 16 | | teens, including a 27% increase in suburban Cook County and a | 17 | | 46% increase in the collar counties; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, In 2008, over 100 individuals in the Chicago | 19 | | Metropolitan Area under the age of 35 died from a heroin | 20 | | overdose; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Heroin has become the second most common drug |
| | | HR0824 | - 3 - | LRB098 17319 GRL 54534 r |
|
| 1 | | after alcohol and the most common illegal substance for which | 2 | | individuals enter treatment in Illinois, compared to the fourth | 3 | | most common reason Illinoisans entered publicly-funded | 4 | | treatment in 1998; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Heroin abuse destroys lives and tears entire | 6 | | communities apart; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we urge all schools in the State of Illinois to educate youth | 10 | | about the dangers associated with the use of heroin and the | 11 | | escalating numbers of accidental deaths due to heroin | 12 | | overdoses; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That we state the opinion that comprehensive drug | 14 | | education programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance | 15 | | Education (DARE) program, serve as valuable tools in presenting | 16 | | the facts and dangers related to heroin use to Illinois youth; | 17 | | and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That we encourage schools to especially | 19 | | encourage awareness on Illinois Heroin Abuse Awareness Day on | 20 | | November 4, 2014.
|
|