RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, on May 14, 2011, the Chicago City Council Committee on Health held a hearing on investigating trends in alcohol and drug abuse among teenagers in the City of Chicago, for investigating methods and programs through which such activity effectively can be discouraged; and,
WHEREAS, at the hearing, the everyday household item of bath salts was identified as a hallucinogenic power; and,
WHEREAS, since that hearing, the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 2089, which would make the substance methylenedioxpyrovalerone MDPV - the key ingredient in bath salts - illegal; and,
WHEREAS, according to reports, users smoke or snort the substance and the high is described as similar to feelings from methamphetamine or Ecstasy; and,
WHEREAS, the cost of an ounce of bath salts typically is between $2 and $5 an ounce, compared to the street value of cocaine of $80 to $100 and ounce; and,
WHEREAS, the Illinois Poison Center has been fielding calls from people who have take the bath salts, which can case severe hallucinations, paranoia and psychotic episodes; and,
WHEREAS, several deaths have been linked to the use of this everyday household item, ten states already have legislation to outlaw the synthetic substance, with twenty four other states proposing a similar ban; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection is directed to invite drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment professionals and health professionals, including representatives of the Chicago Department of Public Health, and other interested persons, to provide testimony regarding the use of bath salts, which contain the synthetic drug methylenedioxpyrovalerone or MDPV.
George A Cardenas Aldermai/, 12th Ward