HR0118 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0118 LRB096 08277 GRL 18385 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Household medicine cabinets pose a danger to the health and safety of children and young adults; medicine cabinets may contain pain relievers, anti-depressants, anti-hypertensives, and a myriad of other medications that can harm children; medications prescribed for parents or others in a household may appear safe and benign to some young children; children can often mistakenly think that medicine cabinets contain only "safe" medications that "mom" gives them when they are sick; and

WHEREAS, Some teens may experiment with prescription drugs; it is becoming increasingly common for teenagers to abuse pain medications or over-the-counter (OTC) medications; and

WHEREAS, The abuse of drugs can have a very damaging effect on the still-developing brains of children and young adults; prescription and OTC medications that are abused or used for non-medical reasons can alter brain activity and lead to dependence; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that children and teens know that prescription medications, OTC medications, and other common items in household medicine cabinets are potentially dangerous and should not be used improperly or without parental supervision; and

WHEREAS, Parents need to be informed of the potential danger to their children of common medications lurking inside their medicine cabinets and urged to check their medicine cabinets and discard any prescription drugs that are no longer required to treat a medical condition so that these medications are not available to be misused or accidentally ingested; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge universities and K-12 schools throughout Illinois to warn children and young adults about the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, to encourage physicians and pharmacists to alert parents to the inherent dangers of these drugs, and to encourage parents to keep these medications out of their children's reach; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be made available to all K-12 schools, colleges, universities, educational institutions, physicians' offices, and healthcare facilities in the State of Illinois.