Bill Text: IL HR0270 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates November 4 in 2017 and 2018 as Heroin Abuse Awareness Day in the State of Illinois.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-11 - Resolution Adopted [HR0270 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0270-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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