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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 "Heroin Use in Illinois: A Ten-Year | ||||||
5 | Multiple Indicator Analysis, 1998 to 2008", the Chicago | ||||||
6 | metropolitan area ranked among the worst nationally for | ||||||
7 | heroin-related problems, including ranking first in the number | ||||||
8 | of individuals admitted to the emergency room for heroin abuse | ||||||
9 | and first in the percentage of arrestees testing positive for | ||||||
10 | heroin; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, The study also found a large increase in deaths | ||||||
12 | from heroin overdoses in the collar counties, including a 130% | ||||||
13 | increase in Lake County from 2000 to 2009, a 150% increase in | ||||||
14 | McHenry County in just a three-year period, a doubling of | ||||||
15 | heroin-related deaths in Will County in a period of just two | ||||||
16 | years, and a total of 78 heroin-related deaths in DuPage County | ||||||
17 | over a three-year period, indicating that heroin remains
a | ||||||
18 | continuing problem in DuPage County; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The study also found the increase in suburban | ||||||
20 | heroin abuse has resulted from increased
heroin use among | ||||||
21 | teens, including a 27% increase in suburban Cook County and a | ||||||
22 | 46% increase
in the collar counties; in 2008, over 100 | ||||||
23 | individuals in the Chicago Metropolitan Area
under the age of |
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1 | 35 died from heroin overdose; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Heroin has become the second most common drug | ||||||
3 | after alcohol and the most common illegal substance for which | ||||||
4 | individuals enter treatment in Illinois, compared to the fourth | ||||||
5 | most common reason Illinoisans entered publicly-funded | ||||||
6 | treatment in 1998; therefore, be it
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7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
8 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we urge the citizens of the State of Illinois, especially the | ||||||
10 | parents of Illinois youth, to become aware of the dangers | ||||||
11 | associated with the use of heroin and the escalating number of | ||||||
12 | accidental deaths due to heroin overdoses; and be it further
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13 | RESOLVED, That we find that comprehensive drug education | ||||||
14 | programs, including the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) | ||||||
15 | program, serve as valuable tools in presenting the facts and | ||||||
16 | dangers related to heroin use to Illinois youth; and be it | ||||||
17 | further | ||||||
18 | RESOLVED, That we designate the date of November 4, 2013 as | ||||||
19 | Heroin Abuse Awareness Day in the State of Illinois in | ||||||
20 | conjunction with National Drug Facts Week from January 27 - | ||||||
21 | February 2, 2014.
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