The Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) has recognized the need to study the impact that the legalization of marijuana has had, and will continue to have, on the state of Illinois. The purpose of this report is to provide data and perspective on the change of public policy and messaging regarding the use of marijuana in Illinois since the passage of the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act in 2019.
Chicago HIDTA 2021 Marijuana Legalization Impact Report for Illinois
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.
“DrugFree Idaho” in conjunction with Idaho’s newest marijuana education effort titled, “Keep Idaho” released an hour long video that examines some of the impacts faced by our society after marijuana is legalized.
You can view the presentation for free at:
Jeff Beeson is deputy director of the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Beeson's team has a way for first responders to enter overdose data in real time, to help bridge the data gap plaguing the opioid epidemic.
The AP(8/17, Ronayne) reports that according to the CDC, Americans are dying at a rate of 78 per day from opioid overdoses, and that figure continues to rise. The article points out that “overdose deaths from prescription painkillers have quadrupled since 1999, tracking a similar increase in the amount of these drugs being prescribed by doctors.” The article adds that experts are attributing this marked increase in large measure to excessive prescribing of painkillers.
The AP (8/17) reports the White House has pledged that it “will spend $17 million to help law enforcement agencies deal with the increase in heroin and opioid abuse.” The funds will “support an array of projects to disrupt drug trafficking, increase the use of the drug naloxone to reverse overdoses and train medical providers on safe prescribing practices.”
