“Building on the state’s commitment to address the opioid crisis, Governor Pritzker signed Executive Order 2020-02 on January 27, 2020 to better address racial disparities in responding to the opioid crisis by establishing the Governor’s Opioid Overdose Prevention and Recovery Steering Committee. Illinois is also dedicating $4.1 million state dollars to expand recovery and prevention services for individuals with opioid use disorder in all corners of the state.”
This newly developed interactive visualization allows you to look at trends in alcohol, tobacco, e-cig, marijuana and other drug use behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, sources and preferences.
Also, statistical data (not the raw data) can be downloaded to Excel, Powerpoint or other formats for your own use – note the share button on the lower right of the page.
“Looking at data from death certificates from 1999 to 2017, researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism determined that the number of alcohol-related deaths increased 50.9% from 16.9 to 25.5 per 100,000. Specifically, they counted 35,914 deaths in 1999 and 72,558 by 2017. That’s a loss of nearly 1 million Americans in that time period. In 2017 alone, 2.6% of about 2.8 million deaths in the US were alcohol related.”
As of last December, the federal government has raised the purchase age of tobacco to 21 across the country. See the following from our friends at the American Lung Association, long an advocate for Tobacco 21!
Some individuals on probation who have opioid use disorders (OUDs) cannot access effective, FDA-approved medications-methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone-to treat their disorders. This article shared finding from a survey of 26 Illinois probation department directors on how probation departments respond to clients with OUDs, focusing on the barriers to accessing OUD medications. The article noted that a majority of probation department leaders perceived barriers for probation client access to OUD medications including lack of medical personnel experience, cost, need for guidance on medications, and regulations prohibiting medication use. The article highlighted a need for training, interagency collaboration, and policy changes to increase access to, education on, and use of, medications for probation clients. Such efforts may result in positive outcomes such as reduced recidivism, increased quality of life, and reduced mortality.
Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is a persistent but preventable problem that creates a risk of injury or death for all individuals on the road. This article provides an overview of policies to prevent and reduce alcohol-impaired driving, an analysis of related data from Illinois, and a review of existing research on interventions to combat driving under the influence. Researchers found the number of DUI arrests and alcohol-related fatal accidents in Illinois have remained stable or decreased in the past decade. However, further research is needed to fully understand the impact of law enforcement efforts and new technology to address alcohol-impaired driving.
While most of the country has turned its attention to the opioid crisis, Illinois has seen a resurgence in methamphetamine misuse and related offending, particularly in rural areas. Researchers explored literature and data available on the extent and nature of state and national methamphetamine issues. Researchers found the arrest rate for methamphetamine-related offenses more than tripled between 2010 and 2017 in Illinois and the number of individuals in Illinois prisons for methamphetamine offenses increased 67 percent between 2012 and 2018. Further, treatment admissions for methamphetamine increased five-fold between 2000 and 2017.
CPRD recently presented the results of research combining the Illinois Youth Survey results and data on marijuana dispensary locations around the state to examine whether dispensary locations may have an effect on increasing youth use of marijuana. Initial results, presented in the figure above, suggests no relationshipo or a very limited relationship if any. This subject probably warrants further research, especially as medical marijuana dispensaries are set to become recreational marijuana dispensaries as of July 1, 2020 in Illinois.
This research was recently presented at the Research Society on Marijuana Annual Conference in Vancouver, Washington.
Opioid overdose is a national epidemic that effects individuals, families and communities. In 2016, there were more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to National Center for Health Statistics.
To help find ways to prevent opioid overdose deaths it is important that we know the facts. The Statewide Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) helps us understand emerging trends and factors leading up to the overdose and can be used to develop prevention approaches.
After peaking in 2014, the number of drunk teens ending up in Chicago Emergency Rooms (ERs) dropped dramatically during the music festival, Lollapalooza. A study led by pediatric specialists at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago shows that the number of ER visits for underage drinkers, ages 13 to 20, peaked in 2014 at 213 ER visits to 100 in 2018, a 53 percent decrease.
“However, teenage drinking during this event is still too high — 5 times higher than a normal Chicago weekend so we still have work to do.” Robert Tanz, MD, Lurie Children’s Hospital
A link to the informational release from Lurie Children’s Hospital is HERE
