Whether or not you have made up your mind about legalizing marijuana for recreational use, the Illinois Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police highly recommend listening to the experts with genuine experience about what to expect if some lawmakers have their way.

“We encourage you to heed the warnings from people who speak first-hand about the effect it’s had on them, their profession, and their families.”

Get all the facts before you decide whether this will be good for Illinois. Please pass this information along to others.

Here is part of the letter from the Sheriffs and Chiefs:

We have discovered that it’s becoming almost impossible to get the straight facts about the predictable increase in fatalities, hospitalizations, and crime. Too many people are shrugging and saying, “Will it really do any harm?” Yes. Absolutely, it will.

That’s why we urge you to watch one or more of the webinars that will address some of the consequences of legalization. We encourage you to heed the warnings from people who speak first-hand about the effect it’s had on them, their profession, and their families.

…

In 2013, the Illinois General Assembly legalized medical marijuana. In 2016, the same body of lawmakers decriminalized possession of marijuana, reducing it to a $100 fine. And now some want full legalization of recreational marijuana.

The Illinois Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs’ Associations strongly oppose legalizing high potency marijuana for recreational use and these webinars will give you a better understanding of why.

The full letter is here.

Several online presentations are scheduled for September and October. They will be live-streamed at Facebook.com/noweedillinois and then permanently posted there and also at www.noweedillinois.com.

Sept 11th, 12:00 PM

Topics: Pot problems in Colorado schools increase with legalization. And the toll that legal weed is taking on Colorado’s culture.

Presenter: Ron Castagna. Educator and retired Colorado high school principal of 27 years, 2012 Principal of the Year; presentation given at Colorado PTA State Convention and Colorado School Administrator meetings titled Teens and the Impact of Marijuana.

Sept. 13th, 12:00 PM

Topics: Marijuana’s hidden price: the environmental, economic and human impact of legalization in California.

Presenter: Roger Morgan. Chairman/founder of Take Back America Campaign; former chairman and executive director of the Coalition for a Drug-Free California; founding chairman of the Colorado SAFE Foundation in 1997, a non-profit dealing with drug prevention; prior Board Member of the San Diego Prevention Coalition; member of the National Coalition for Student Drug Testing; and Special Advisor to the Golden Rule Society in Colorado. His two step-children became drug addicted and two nephews died from drug related causes.

Sept. 13th, 2:00 PM

Topics: Driving while high, black market pot, the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, more danger on roads and a higher crime rate.

Presenter: Chelsey Clarke. Chelsey joined the Colorado Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) program in 2014 as a strategic intelligence analyst and in 2016 was promoted to the Strategic Intelligence Unit Supervisor. She is a primary contributor to the annual RMHIDTA regional Threat Assessment and The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact reports, as well as a leader in the Colorado Heroin Response Work Group. She helped create and develop the current statewide Heroin Impact Project which encompasses a two-pronged approach: Operation Poison Pusher and Operation Helping Hand.

Sept 25th, 12:00 PM

Topics: “If It’s Legal, Why Test? Addressing the Marijuana Bully in the Workplace.”

Presenter: Chuck Marting. Serves on the Board of the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association; former law enforcement officer where he spent 17 years as a Drug Recognition Expert; expertise in workplace impact, has trained district attorneys, school administrators and business owners on workplace impairment testing.

Sept. 25th, 2:00 PM

Topics: How today’s marijuana is contributing to a rise in homelessness in legal weed states. Pregnancy and marijuana use – this can’t be good for moms or their babies. Why the current marijuana is so bad. Common presentations such as hyperemesis, psychosis, polysubstance use/abuse, acute cardiac issues.

Presenter: Dr. Karen Randall, MD. Emergency Room Physician in the 3rd busiest Emergency Department in Colorado; trained in emergency medicine, pediatrics and family practice; holds a certificate in Cannabis Science and Medicine from the University of Vermont; on the Board of Directors for SCEMA and VP of case management for SCEMA; has spoken nationally and internationally on the harms of marijuana.

Sept 26th, 12:00 PM

Topics: Cannabis has not curbed the opioid epidemic in Colorado, which saw a record year of opioid deaths in 2017. The negative effects on the heart and lungs, the increase in driving fatalities and youth use. Marijuana growers have left Northern California with a $50 to $80 billion dollar environmental cleanup bill.

Presenter: Dr. Ken Finn, MD. Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Board Certified in Pain Medicine and Pain Management; licensed in Colorado, Utah and Arizona; president and founder of several Rehab Medicine businesses; serves on the American Board of Pain Medicine Executive Board and Exam Council; Volunteer Clinical Instructor at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Medical Branch; published several papers related to cannabis in the face of the opioid epidemic and societal effects.

Sept. 27th, 10:30 AM

Topics: All the chemicals being used to grow today’s marijuana are causing an environmental disaster. Marijuana growers are poisoning the soil and water supplies and are killing wildlife.

Presenter: Dr. Mourad Gabriel, M.S., Ph.D. Co-founder of the Integral Ecology Research Center in 2004. Dr. Gabriel earned his B.S. in Wildlife Biology at Humboldt State University, his M.S. in Wildlife Ecology at Humboldt State University, and his Ph.D in Comparative Pathology (emphasis on wildlife disease ecology) at the University of California Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Gabriel is also a Research Associate Faculty at the One Health Institute, Wildlife Heath Center at the University of California Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Oct. 23rd, 7:00 PM

Topic: What marijuana legalization is doing to young people. Her family’s personal nightmare.

Presenter: Aubree Adams. Aubree’s son started using marijuana in the 8th grade, soon after Colorado legalized the drug for recreational use. As a freshman, Aubree’s son had a psychotic break and tried to kill himself. Her son continued a cycle of addiction and mental illness for several years. He is now in recovery, and admits marijuana almost killed him and was his gateway to other drugs. Aubree is affiliated with Mom’s Strong, Parents Opposed to Pot, and Marijuana Victims Alliance.

Oct. 30th, 11:30 AM

Topic: Psychotic behavior. Addiction. A gateway to other drugs. Today’s marijuana is not the pot that you smoked in the 60’s and 70’s. More kids are using and becoming addicted.

Presenter: Lynn Riemer Speaker, trainer and advocate on issues relating to substance abuse. Lynn is president of ACT on Drugs, Inc., a non-profit organization with a mission to educate parents, teens, and professionals about addictive and psychoactive substances, both legal and illegal. This past school year, Lynn provided 772 trainings, 725 directly to middle and high school students. She has extensive knowledge of drug chemistry, having served with the DEA and on the North Metro Drug Task Force.

Presenter: Matt Montgomery. Matt served in the Broomfield Police Department for 9 ½ years and is a national expert in school safety, certified by the National Association of School Resource Officers. He has extensive training in drug detection, and its effects on adolescents. Matt holds a Masters in Teaching and Learning from Colorado State University.

A printable schedule is available HERE.

Please forward to others.