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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
URGING THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO FORM A TASK FORCE TO RESEARCH, DEVELOP AND INTRODUCE LEGISLATION FOR LEGALIZING AND REGULATING CANNABIS USE FOR ADULTS IN ILLINOIS
WHEREAS, in 2000, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) attempted to restate the goals of the "War on Drugs": "to educate and enable America's youth to reject illegal drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco; to increase the safety of America's citizens by substantially reducing drug-related crime and violence; to reduce health and social costs to the public of illegal drugs use; to shield America's air, land, and sea frontiers from the drug threat; and to break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply"; and
WHEREAS, in reality, most scholars agree that despite spending more than $1 trillion dollars over the last 40 years on the "War on Drugs", we have succeeded in none of these goals; and
WHEREAS, despite the efforts of the War on Drugs, the health and social costs of drugs increase every year, and drug users are at heightened risk of death, illness and overdose, as the drugs available on the black market are generally less safe. Drugs are no less available than before, our borders are not secure, and treatment is not available to the vast majority of people who need it; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, the Obama Administration's inaugural National Drug Control Strategy charted a new course in our efforts to reduce illicit drug use and its consequences in the United States by calling for drug policy reform rooted in scientific research on addiction, evidence-based prevention programs, increased access to treatment, a historic emphasis on recovery, and criminal justice reform; and
WHEREAS, the 2013 ONDCP strategy consists of the following goals: "prevent drug use before it ever begins through education; expand access to treatment for Americans struggling with addiction; reform our criminal justice system to break the cycle of drug use, crime, and inca...
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