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Fewer IL Dollars for Drug Prevention Programs
(IRN)-Like everything else that's state funded, there's less state funding for drug prevention.

State funding of drug treatment programs is down 30 percent over the last three years, at a time when drug use by teenagers is on the way up. This does not bode well for those teenagers, says Daphne Baille of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, which advocates for folks who need drug treatment.

"When youth use any illicit drug or alcohol, the problem is that the young person's brain is still developing, so the dangers of harm are greater to young people than they are to adults," she says.

The increase in use is documented by a University of Michigan study that finds marijuana use by eighth graders nationally rose from 13 percent in 2007 to 16 percent now, a 23 percent increase.

State funding for drug prevention programs, often run by schools or community groups, fell from $7.6 million in 2008 to $5.3 million now, a 30 percent drop, because the state is broke. Baille says when teenagers don’t get the anti-drug message from these programs, there is no counter-balance to messages that minimize or ignore the harm of illegal drugs and alcohol.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
12 17 10 by Newsroom
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