I think the reasoning is much simpler, the Illinois Supreme Court Justices are elected not appointed. Which this case clearly proves that these issues are more political than anything else, that’s the only logical explanation for acknowledging the facts and ruling against them.

DavidM – good question and I am not sure – I would think that suicide by overdose would be a hard thing to track unless of course the empty pill bottle is there.

How many of those were suicide related,? Which means they would probably have used something else if they couldn’t get opioids.

I agree with you Karen. These laws are based on scare tactics that have no basis in fact.

Also, just to let you know I teach sociology among other things. We do have a drug epidemic in our country but it is opiates. Not the choice of teenagers. I do not have the statistics on hand (but I can look) but I would venture to guess that more teens die from alcohol related incidents than illicit drugs. It is well known that the opiate crisis has been caused by doctors over prescribing opiates and people become addicted – then there is no real place for people to get help with the addiction when the doctor cuts them loose. They go for something on the street. That is the drug addiction problem in our country today. As a matter of fact, overall illicit drug use by teens has fallen in numbers over the last 2 decades.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

I am not exactly sure what you are saying I am wrong about so I can’t address that. However, I do not go for the tactic of Look they are worse than I am! We have lots of problems in this country that many other countries seem to handle quite well and with a humanitarian outlook.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/16/health/teen-overdose-death-rate/index.html

“Although stories of teens using drugs and overdosing appear often in headlines, the number of teens dying from overdose is quite small. In 2015, 772 drug overdose deaths were reported for the 15- to 19-year-old age group. That represents just 1.4% of the 52,404 people who died of drug overdoses that same year. More than 33,000 of those deaths were from opioids.”

I do not doubt that there are parks in some places where people do the drug deals – in FL at one time there was a problem in rest stops – but those were few and far between. The point being that neither problem (RSOs in parks or drug dealers) is so rampant that it warrants barring any group of people. In my experience those that buy drugs go to find them – either from a dealer or at the place where it is known that the dealers gather. Very rarely will a person dealing drugs approach an unknown person to peddle their wares. If the dealers did not gather in the parking lot of the park the teens (or whomever) would go to another spot to get the drugs. I guess I have just gotten to the point that I realize that most of what people assume to be true is actually just the opposite. Any many people base sweeping opinions and policies based on one incident or experience.

You have me thinking now of that possibility.

I have wondered that myself a couple of times for some cases. So you’re not alone. In this case, the reason for the unanimous decision is just plain nuts. I would of dismissed this as business as usual, if there was a split decision and have read the dissenting opinion, but to have all 7 judges agreed upon that crazy reasoning ? I’m having a hard time buying it. You would have to wonder.

Hi Karen. I wasn’t speaking about little kids. The drug dealers look for parks where teens hang out together, and peddle their wares to them. Happened when I was a teen in the 70’s. I still see it happening today. Had a friend last year who told me that’s where he buys drugs, at the park in the center of town. And he’s in his 50’s. Kids are in that same park all day. I don’t use illegal drugs, but I went down to that park to see it for myself. Families watching softball games, kids playing, and drug dealers in the parking lot. Police catch a few, but there are always more to take their place. They concentrate on young buyers whenever they can, because those are less likely to be undercover police. I hate it too, but I will not live in denial about what is happening there. Every kid on drugs got them somewhere up the line from an adult. And with the epidemic of drug overdosing going on now, the danger to kids is sky high. Ask any emergency room doctor. I didn’t want to get off topic into another area like this Karen, but you are simply wrong. Unfortunately, the response from legislators will be to increase penalties for drug offenses, while still insisting that convicted sex offenders don’t belong in society. No one seems to care what the real evidence shows, although federal courts are beginning to see how onerous the sex offender registries truly are. Hopefully they will continue in that direction. Can’t trust the politicians to make the right changes.