Full Text of HR0922 093rd General Assembly
HR0922 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Dextromethorphan is a cough suppressant that is | 3 |
| available, alone and in combination with other nonprescription | 4 |
| medications, in syrup, pill, and softgel form in a wide variety | 5 |
| of nonprescription products; and
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| WHEREAS, When taken in an amount much greater than the | 7 |
| therapeutic dosage, dextromethorphan produces hallucinations | 8 |
| and intoxication and acts as a
disassociative anesthetic and a | 9 |
| central nervous system
depressant; ingredients used in cough | 10 |
| medicines along with dextromethorphan, such as acetaminophen, | 11 |
| are extremely hazardous when consumed in high doses and can | 12 |
| cause liver damage, heart attack, stroke, and death; and
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| WHEREAS, Under street names such as "DXM", "robo", and | 14 |
| "skittles", dextromethorphan abuse has become widespread among | 15 |
| young people in Illinois and overdoses have resulted in | 16 |
| seizures, comas, and fatalities; abusers sometimes use | 17 |
| dextromethorphan in combination with illegal drugs; the | 18 |
| problem grows as websites are created to advise prospective | 19 |
| users how to ingest it as a recreational drug; and
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| WHEREAS, The federal Controlled Substances Act, at 21 USC | 21 |
| 811(g)(2), provides that dextromethorphan shall not be deemed | 22 |
| to be included in any schedule of controlled substances unless | 23 |
| it is controlled pursuant to specified provisions of that Act; | 24 |
| the Illinois Controlled Substances Act has a similar provision | 25 |
| at 720 ILCS 570/201(f); and
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| WHEREAS, A 1997 amendment to the federal Food, Drug and | 27 |
| Cosmetic Act, at 21 USC 379r, provides that, with certain | 28 |
| exceptions, no State may establish or continue in effect any | 29 |
| requirement that relates to the regulation of a nonprescription | 30 |
| drug that is different from or in addition to, or that is | 31 |
| otherwise not identical with
specified federal laws, and also |
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| provides that a State or political subdivision may apply to the | 2 |
| Secretary of Health and Human Services for an exemption from | 3 |
| those provisions if the requirement would protect an important | 4 |
| public interest that would otherwise be unprotected, including | 5 |
| the health and safety of children,
would not cause any drug to | 6 |
| be in violation of any applicable requirement or prohibition | 7 |
| under federal law, and
would not unduly burden interstate | 8 |
| commerce; and
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| WHEREAS, A number of methods to address the problem of | 10 |
| dextromethorphan abuse have been suggested, including: | 11 |
| prohibiting the sale of products containing dextromethorphan | 12 |
| to minors, limiting the quantity of products containing | 13 |
| dextromethorphan that may be purchased at one time by any | 14 |
| individual, requiring warning signs where products containing | 15 |
| dextromethorphan are sold at retail, restricting the display of | 16 |
| products containing dextromethorphan, and prohibiting the | 17 |
| sale, over the Internet or or by any other means, of | 18 |
| dextromethorphan powder that has been extracted from cough | 19 |
| syrup; and
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| WHEREAS, Before deciding whether to take any action | 21 |
| regarding this matter of public health concern, the General | 22 |
| Assembly should have as much information as possible concerning | 23 |
| the steps that must be taken to ensure that any action it may | 24 |
| take would be enforceable and in conformity with any applicable | 25 |
| federal requirements; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 27 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 28 |
| the Illinois Department of Public Health is requested to | 29 |
| communicate with appropriate federal agencies and submit a | 30 |
| report to the General Assembly, no later than December 31, | 31 |
| 2004, setting forth its findings as to whether any of the | 32 |
| suggested methods to regulate products containing | 33 |
| dextromethorphan, if enacted, would require any exemptions or |
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| waivers from the federal government in order to become | 2 |
| enforceable on the State level; the Illinois Department of | 3 |
| Public Health is further requested to include with its report | 4 |
| copies of any communications with federal agencies concerning | 5 |
| its findings; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to | 7 |
| the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
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