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RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, A study released on April 6, 2011 by The Partnership at Drugfree.org
, an organization formerly known as The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, revealed that nearly half of America's teenagers believe that consuming five or more alcoholic drinks nearly every day is not a big problem; and
WHEREAS, The study, which surveyed 2,544 teenagers with anonymous questionnaires, also showed that marijuana and Ecstasy use among young people in grades 9 through 12 has been increasing; and
WHEREAS, Among teenagers who participated in the study, the average age when they had their first drink was 14; and
WHEREAS, Overall, 68 percent of teenagers said they had consumed alcohol in their lifetime and, of those teenagers, one quarter had their first drink at age 12 or younger; and
WHEREAS, Not all of the news about teenage drinking has been discouraging, however, as United States government data indicate that underage drinking and binge drinking are at record low levels, and the Partnership at Drugfree.org study shows the percentage of teenagers who reported drinking alcohol in the previous month decreasing, down from a peak of 50 percent in 1998 to 35 percent in 2010; and
WHEREAS, Nevertheless, twenty-five percent of teenagers reported in 2010 that they had smoked marijuana in the past month, the same percentage that was reported in 2009 but a higher percentage than what was reported in 2008, indicating an upward trend in marijuana usage among teenagers that reverses a decline that had lasted nearly a decade; and
WHEREAS, An increase in the abuse of Ecstacy also continued, with six percent of teenagers reporting usage in the previous month, up from four percent in 2008; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this thirteenth day of April, 2011, do hereby direct the City Council Committee on Health to conduct one or more hearings f...
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