The President of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police is encouraging a “NO” vote on a Cook County marijuana referendum.

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about today’s high potency marijuana. Overdose rates have increased in states that have legalized such as Colorado, which legalized ‘recreational” marijuana in 2014.  As a result of legalization, they’ve also seen significant increases in youth pot use, homelessness, and workers failing drug tests. That and the alarming number of hospitalizations and even deaths, plus car accident fatalities are on the rise from those driving under the influence of marijuana should give us pause about this policy. But what should cause parents to flood lawmaker’s offices with urgent pleas to oppose legalization is this destructive consequence of marijuana use.

But there is more…

You may be surprised to learn that the marijuana black market is flourishing in states that have legalized pot. For example, the Chicago Tribune recently reported that Oregon’s top federal prosecutor is dealing with, in his words, a “massive marijuana overproduction problem,” pointing out that it “is attracting cartels and criminal networks and sparking money laundering, violence and environmental woes.”

That is bolsted by statistics from Colorado which says the number of Hispanics and African Americans arrested for marijuana-related offenses rose 29 and 58 percent two years after legalization.  Ironically, some proponents, like Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, publicly support legal weed arguing that it would “reduce racial disparities in  drug prosecution.”  Yet, the exact opposite is happening.

Should Illinois lawmakers legalize it for recreational use? Before you decide, hear from the experts. Get the facts that the institutional media will not tell you!

On February 6th, IFI held its 2^nd live-streamed webinar on our Facebook page.  That video is now available here and on our YouTube channel:

Our guests include:

–>Dr. Andrew Weiner, a clinical psychologist and the director of addiction services at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville

–>Ron Cospagna, retired Colorado high school principal; awarded 2012 Colorado Teacher of the Year; witness to the effects of marijuana on Colorado youth

–>Marvella Black, drug legalization opponent for over 30 years and witness to the effects of marijuana in the African-American community

Please note:  There will be a referendum question on the Cook County ballot on March 20^th and possibly one for the entire state for the General Election on November 6^th on whether or not to legalize. Before you cast your vote, know the facts!

Bulletin Insert:  Ask your pastor to share this bulletin insert with your congregation.  The body of Christ and people of faith must be informed about the consequences of this policy, and encouraged to vote NO to legal marijuana in Illinois.

If you haven’t watched our first webinar on this topic, it’s well worth your time. It can be found on our Facebook page HERE, or on our YouTube channel HERE.

Subscribe to the IFI YouTube channel
and never miss a video report or special program!

Written by Kevin Sabet

To some entrepreneurs (and even Illinois gubernatorial candidates), marijuana legalization is all the rage these days. We’re promised “more tax money!”, “less crime!” and “miraculous medicine!”

But a closer look at the evidence reveals a far different picture.

In fact, take it from this former Obama administration drug policy adviser: The legalization of recreational marijuana will impose significant costs on taxpayers, resulting in workplace losses, car crashes, lost tourism revenue, administrative enforcement and a multitude of other issues.

It’s true: One sector of the economy stands to make big bucks from legalization, and that’s Big Marijuana. Its goal is to fool us into believing their billion-dollar industry will somehow benefit employers and taxpayers. Remember Big Tobacco? It’s like a watching a car crash happen all over again in slow motion.

Speaking of car crashes, add that to the list of things we have to worry about with legal marijuana. According to AAA, crashes related to pot doubled after legalization in Washington, and a recent Denver Post investigation found an increase in pot-related car crashes,confirming data revealed by law enforcement.

Pot is also causing significant disruptions in the workforce in legalized states. Workers in those states are testing positive for marijuana at much higher rates than the rest of the country, and some companies—like a large construction firm in Colorado—can’t find people to pass a drug test.

Marijuana legalization also opens the door to myriad lawsuits against employers. The marijuana industry has vowed to make employee “rights” to use pot a priority. The head of the pot lobby has said that firing pot users is “simply unfair, and it cannot be allowed to stand.” They’ve won in some courts.​

While the Big Marijuana industry claims that legalizing recreational use will lead to an influx of state tax dollars, evidence shows that the costs of legalization outweigh any potential tax revenue. Based on research in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, the public health costs related to Big Marijuana are at least 25 percent greater than the increased tax revenues, due to workplace accidents, hospital admissions, traffic crashes and increased law enforcement costs.

And there are so many more costs we cannot even begin to quantify. This includes increased use of other drugs, greater marijuana use, controlling an expanded black market, sales to minors, public intoxication and other burdens.

Let’s take a look at Colorado, whose “great experiment” with marijuana is hurting its health care system and roadways—and worst of all, its kids. In fact, there are now more black and Hispanic youth arrested for pot now than before legalization in Colorado. While rich white men get richer and marginalized communities remain forgotten, social justice has hardly been advanced. Tax revenue gained from marijuana was much smaller than promised, and the Denver Post reported pot taxes wouldn’t solve the state’s budget problems. One study showed uncollected payments among marijuana-related patients at a hospital in Colorado totaled at least $20 million over a six-year period. And a recent study released in May showed that ER visits by teenagers in Colorado have quadrupled since marijuana was legalized.

Even Colorado’s own “pot czar,” Andrew Freedman, has said marijuana tax revenues are often wildly overestimated, saying, “Everybody was really excited about the tax revenue, and now everyone wants to know where it went.”

Don’t let Big Marijuana fool you into believing their billion-dollar industry will somehow benefit you. Legalizing recreational marijuana only benefits Big Marijuana—at the expense of employers, taxpayers and families.

Originally published at ChicagoBusiness.org. A former drug policy adviser to three U.S. presidents, Kevin Sabet is founder and president of policy group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, co-founded by Rep. Patrick Kennedy. SAM also helped start Healthy & Productive Illinois.

Several state lawmakers from Chicago want to legalize “recreational” marijuana throughout Illinois, and their allies in the media only seem to want to collude in advancing this ominous agenda.  Many proponents simply view the illegal controlled substance as a revenue source to help bail them out of years of reckless overspending.  Yet we do not have to look far to discover overwhelming and alarming consequences of legalization from other states that have already implemented this foolish policy.

If you live in Cook County, help spread the word by distributing these fliers to your neighbors highlighting the dangers to our children and families.

The affects on school dropout, workforce participation, highway accidents, job safety, homelessness, crime, mental health, and lung/heart disease (to name a few), are not being considered in this rush to secure a new source of revenue to bolster irresponsible spending in Springfield.  This is nothing more than pushing intoxication for tax income.

Illinois can expect more drugs in the hands of youth, more fatalities on our roads and more buzzed employees in the workplace.  And for what? After five years, Colorado receives only 0.08% of their budget in tax revenue from legalization.

Hardly worth the inestimable costs.

There is so much more to say and write about this topic, and we will continue to do so. But to help IFI subscribers get a better handle on this important issue, we are going to host our first Facebook Livestream webinar with a panel of experts this Thursday evening.  Our guests will discuss what legalization has brought to other states and what we can expect if these ballot initiatives pass in Illinois.

WHAT: Panel of Experts to Discuss Marijuana Legalization

WHEN:  Thursday, January 25^th

TIME:  7:00 PM

WHERE:  Watch via the IFI Facebook page

Please attend! It will be very worth your time!
You will learn important facts that the media simply won’t tell you.

If you cannot watch live, the video will be archived on the IFI Facebook page and cross-posted on the IFI YouTube Channel.

Please note:  There will be a referendum question on the Cook County ballot on March 20^th and possibly one for the entire state for the General Election on November 6^th on whether or not to legalize. Before you cast your vote, know the facts!

Bulletin Insert:  Ask your pastor to share this bulletin insert with your congregation.  The body of Christ and people of faith must be informed about the consequences of this policy, and encouraged to vote NO to legal marijuana in Illinois.

IFI Worldview Conference Feb. 10th

We are excited about our annual Worldview Conference featuring well-know apologist John Stonestreet on Sat., Feb. 10, 2017 at Medinah Baptist Church. Mr. Stonestreet is s a dynamic speaker and the award-winning author of “Making Sense of Your World” and his newest offer: “A Practical Guide to Culture.”

Join us for a wonderful opportunity to take enhance your biblical worldview and equip you to more effectively engage the culture:

Click HERE to learn more or to register!

From a Colorado Springs Gazette Opinion

Last week marked the fifth anniversary of Colorado’s decision to sanction the world’s first anything-goes commercial pot trade.

Five years later, we remain an embarrassing cautionary tale.

Visitors to Colorado remark about a new agricultural smell, the wafting odor of pot as they drive near warehouse grow operations along Denver freeways. Residential neighborhoods throughout Colorado Springs reek of marijuana, as producers fill rental homes with plants.

Five years of retail pot coincide with five years of a homelessness growth rate that ranks among the highest rates in the country. Directors of homeless shelters, and people who live on the streets, tell us homeless substance abusers migrate here for easy access to pot.

Five years of Big Marijuana ushered in a doubling in the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana, based on research by the pro-legalization Denver Post.

Five years of commercial pot have been five years of more marijuana in schools than teachers and administrators ever feared.

“An investigation by Education News Colorado, Solutions and the I-News Network shows drug violations reported by Colorado’s K-12 schools have increased 45 percent in the past four years, even as the combined number of all other violations has fallen,” explains an expose on escalating pot use in schools by Rocky Mountain PBS in late 2016.

The investigation found an increase in high school drug violations of 71 percent since legalization. School suspensions for drugs increased 45 percent.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health found Colorado ranks first in the country for marijuana use among teens, scoring well above the national average.

The only good news to celebrate on this anniversary is the dawn of another organization to push back against Big Marijuana’s threat to kids, teens and young adults.

The Marijuana Accountability Coalition formed Nov. 6 in Denver and will establish satellites throughout the state. It resulted from discussions among recovery professionals, parents, physicians and others concerned with the long-term effects of a commercial industry profiteering off of substance abuse.

“It’s one thing to decriminalize marijuana, it’s an entirely different thing to legalize an industry that has commercialized a drug that is devastating our kids and devastating whole communities,” said coalition founder Justin Luke Riley. “Coloradans need to know, other states need to know, that Colorado is suffering from massive normalization and commercialization of this drug which has resulted in Colorado being the number one state for youth drug use in the country. Kids are being expelled at higher rates, and more road deaths tied to pot have resulted since legalization.”

Commercial pot’s five-year anniversary is an odious occasion for those who want safer streets, healthier kids and less suffering associated with substance abuse. Experts say the worst effects of widespread pot use will culminate over decades. If so, we can only imagine the somber nature of Big Marijuana’s 25th birthday.

Article published at Oklahoman.org.

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, a pastor calls your radio show asking how to respond to a congregant who claims that cannabis was sanctioned by God in the Torah. That’s right, sanctioned by the Lord Himself, not to be smoked but to be burned in large quantities by the priests of Israel. Far out!

To be sure, there was a time in my life when I would have readily believed something like this, since I spent 1969-1971 as a heavy drug-using, hippie rock drummer, consuming everything from pot to LSD and from speed to heroin. Not surprisingly, when my two best friends starting reading the Bible, telling me about the more esoteric passages in the Scriptures – all kinds of visions and dreams and revelations – I asked them in jest, “What were they smoking?”

That, in fact, is what I asked the pastor (again, in jest) who called the show: What is this congregant smoking?

It turns out that there is an alleged scholarly basis for this bogus belief, namely, that the Hebrew words qaneh-bosem in Exod 30:23 refer to marijuana, or, more specifically, hemp. And note the apparent similarity in the words: qaneh-bosem and cannabis. That proves it, right?

According to the Herb Museum website, it was in 1936 that a little-known Polish professor named Sara Benetowa (later Sula Benet) wrote, “The sacred character or Hemp in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:22- 23, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting tent and all its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing hemp.”

This was allegedly confirmed by other Hebrew scholars. And obviously, with the rising popularity of marijuana in today’s culture, arguments like this have great appeal for Christians who want to get high. Not only did their state pass a pro-pot law, but God’s into it too!

As one website proclaims in bold, red letters: “The fact is that the Holy Oil contained 6 Pounds of  (Marijuana) with other spices boiled into one gallon of Olive oil! The Holy Oil of God is illegal to obtain today!!!”

Really!

During my drug-using years, I often went to rock concerts at the Fillmore East in New York, seeing groups like Led Zeppelin and the Who and the Grateful Dead and Jethro Tull, among many others.

It was the perfect concert atmosphere, seating only about 2,000 people and with a dynamic light show behind the performers. But it was also a hippie paradise, since the whole place smelled like pot. Is that what the ancient Temple smelled like in Jerusalem? Maybe the priests got high on mushrooms too!

Returning to reality, the alleged connection between qaneh-bosem and cannabis simply doesn’t exist.

Note first that qaneh-bosem is two words in Hebrew, not one. And the words are easily translated, qaneh meaning a stalk or reed, and bosem meaning “sweet smelling.”

Some scholars translate the words together to refer to “aromatic cane,” “scented cane,” or “sweet-smelling cane,” others “sweet calamus” or “fragrant calamus.”

But not a single scholarly, biblical Hebrew lexicon in the world connects these words with cannabis. I can say that emphatically because I own them all, in multiple languages. The alleged connection isn’t there.

It is also certain, for various phonetic and linguistic reasons, that the word cannabis, which comes from the Greek kannabis, is not related to these two Hebrew words. To put it bluntly, there’s no more connection between Hebrew qaneh-bosem and Greek kannabis than there is between “Moses” and “mice.”

As for those who can’t study the issue for themselves, note carefully this commandment to Aaron, the High Priest, and his successors: “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations” (Lev. 10:9). Sobriety was a must for those coming into the presence of God.

This makes the claim all the more ridiculous that the Lord commanded large amounts of pot to be burning in this very same holy place. Yes, be sure not to drink any wine or strong drink, but go ahead and inhale deeply!

As for those Christians who feel that smoking pot “in moderation” is fine, since it’s now legal in their state, a word of caution.

First, pot remains a gateway drug, often leading to the use of other, harder drugs, along with becoming addictive in and of itself.

Second, pot today is far more potent than when I smoked it more than 46 years ago.

Third, new studies are pointing to health risks and driving risks associated with marijuana. (See here on pot use in Colorado.)

Fourth, you’ll have a hard time fulfilling the biblical mandate to “be sober and vigilant” (1 Peter 5:8) while smoking a joint.

In any case, people will have to sort out the question of smoking pot, just as they sort out the question of drinking. (The subject of medical marijuana is another question entirely.)

What I can tell you without hesitation is that God never prescribed pot – as incense or to be smoked – anywhere in the Bible. That’s a fact.

This article was originally posted at TownHall.com

America has known greatness because the majority of Americans living in our constitutional republic led lives tempered by inward moral constraints rather than outward government oppression.

But the downside of liberty comes when those freedoms are severed from that inner moral compass: as fewer folks in the nation honor God and His Word, the hard-fought-for liberty becomes license to do what feels good at the moment with little thought of future consequences. The United States has indeed become a nation reminiscent of 11th century B.C. Israel:

In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25)

Just one such illustration of license: the marijuana legalization debate. For years, physicians and drug enforcement officials have warned that marijuana is gateway drug, a drug that could lead to abuse of stronger drugs.

As recently as the spring of 2016, the venerable New York Times, the Left’s bible of newsworthiness, published an article by Robert DuPont, “Marijuana Has Proven to Be a Gateway Drug.” DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior and Health and the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse writes [emphasis mine]:

It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of heroin users have used marijuana (and many other drugs) not only long before they used heroin but while they are using heroin. Like nearly all people with substance abuse problems, most heroin users initiated their drug use early in their teens, usually beginning with alcohol and marijuana.

There is ample evidence that early initiation of drug use primes the brain for enhanced later responses to other drugs. These facts underscore the need for effective prevention to reduce adolescent use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana in order to turn back the heroin and opioid epidemic and to reduce addiction in this country.

Marijuana use is positively correlated with alcohol use and cigarette use, as well as illegal drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine. This does not mean that everyone who uses marijuana will transition to using heroin or other drugs, but it does mean that people who use marijuana also consume more, not less, legal and illegal drugs than do people who do not use marijuana.

People who are addicted to marijuana are three times more likely to be addicted to heroin.

The legalization of marijuana increases availability of the drug and acceptability of its use. This is bad for public health and safety not only because marijuana use increases the risk of heroin use.

There can be no better prima facie evidence than Colorado.

Colorado Amendment 64, The Personal Use and Regulation of Marijuana, passed in November of 2012 and was then implemented in January 2014. With the passage of that amendment, a Pandora’s box of drug evils was opened, the consequences of which should have been foreseen.

A former Teller County (Colorado) sheriff said the repercussions of pot legalization were a major headache for law enforcement. Note that the amendment states, “DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MARIJUANA SHALL REMAIN ILLEGAL.” But sheriffs and policemen had no means to measure marijuana intoxication. And what about having pot in the vehicle? Would there be “open container/baggy” stipulations?

Over time, as drug use climbed, other negative effects emerged, especially among teens.

Robert DuPont’s NYT article ended with an ominous warning that states thinking about legalizing recreational marijuana should heed:

We are at a crossroads. Legalizing marijuana will have lasting negative effects on future generations. The currently legal drugs, alcohol and tobacco, are two of the leading causes of preventable illness and death in the country. Establishing marijuana as a third legal drug will increase the national drug abuse problem, including expanding the opioid epidemic.

And just what is happening in Colorado today?

A Denver Fox Channel 31 headline reads, “Colorado doctors on front lines of fight against opioid addiction.” FOX31 reporter Shaul Turner writes:

Drug abuse is now the No. 1 killer of adults younger than 50 years old, according to Dr. Donald Stader of Swedish Medical Center.

Many people first receive powerful painkillers in the emergency room, then are given prescriptions to take home.

The goal of a new project is to stop opioid abuse before any patient has a chance to become addicted.

Stader, an emergency room doctor, said the problem among those younger than 50 is frighteningly widespread, “worse than cancer, worse than accidents, worse than HIV AIDS. This is really an unprecedented epidemic on a scale we’ve never seen before.”

Stader is a key member of a pilot program launched by the Colorado Hospital Association and the Colorado American College of Emergency Physicians.

Another headline at the Denver Post, dated September 2016, “Facing surge in opioid abuse and overdose deaths, Colorado distributes 2,500 doses of Narcan.”

Author Jesse Paul reports:

Facing a surge in opioid abuse and related overdose deaths, Colorado authorities on Monday unveiled a plan to distribute the life-saving drug naloxone — known by its trade name, Narcan — to first responders across the state’s hardest hit areas.

The program “will begin saving lives within days,” said Rob Valuck, head of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and a University of Colorado pharmaceuticals professor. “It will save dozens to hundreds of lives over the coming year here in Colorado. It’s just critically important.”

The initiative will send 2,500 dual-dose packages of the handheld opioid blocker to law enforcement and other first responders in 17 counties with high rates of drug overdose deaths. It comes at a time when officials say someone in Colorado dies of an overdose roughly every nine and a half hours and the rate of opioid deaths has surpassed that of traffic fatalities.

And more recently, USA Today published an article on Monday, August 7, 2017, by Opinion Contributor Jeff Hunt titled, “Marijuana devastated Colorado, don’t legalize it nationally.” Hunt reports the grim news: [emphasis mine]

In the years since, Colorado has seen an increase in marijuana related traffic deaths, poison control calls, and emergency room visits. The marijuana black market has increased in Colorado, not decreased. And, numerous Colorado marijuana regulators have been indicted for corruption.

In 2012, we were promised funds from marijuana taxes would benefit our communities, particularly schools. Dr. Harry Bull, the Superintendent of Cherry Creek Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, said, “So far, the only thing that the legalization of marijuana has brought to our schools has been marijuana.”

Marijuana advocates cite anecdotal evidence supposedly supporting pot as an innocuous and even beneficial substance. And there is some support for medicinal use of marijuana oils devoid of the THC–or tetrahydrocannabinol–the compound responsible for the hallucinogenic/psychological effects of cannabis.

But the evidence against recreational marijuana use was available before legalization in Colorado and is mounting. Legalizing it at the federal level would be perilous for the nation.

Jeff Hunt warned,”We’ve seen the effects in our neighborhoods in Colorado, and this is nothing we wish upon the nation.”

Don’t fall for the pro-pot ruse. Smoking marijuana is neither harmless nor without consequences.

The truth is, legalizing the possession and smoking of pot is a bad idea.

A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois!

Click HERE to learn about supporting IFI on a monthly basis.

An expert on the effects of marijuana on the brain, particularly the adolescent brain, was not allowed to testify during a recent Illinois Senate hearing on marijuana legalization. However, she did speak with the Illinois Family Institute which is fighting the big push for legalized pot.

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We now have an IFI mobile app that enables us to deliver great content based on the “Tracks” you choose, including timely legislative alerts, cultural commentaries, upcoming event notifications, links to our podcasts, video reports, and even daily Bible verses to encourage you. This great app is available for Android and iPhones.

Key Features:

• It’s FREE!
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State’s Attorney Jerry Brady speaks to the Peoria Patriots about the Opioid Problem.

He mentioned that over the last couple of years, he and a group of others have been meeting to form a plan on changing the heroin issues in the Peoria area. They have focused on creating more awareness in the community and understanding the root and cause of the increasing Opioid problem.

Winemiller’s – Small Town Family

Brady began with a story about a farmer in Ohio– Mr. Winemiller. Mr. Winemiller and his 3 children own a 3,400 acre farm in Blanchester, Ohio. In March 2016, Mr. Winemiller walked into their bathroom to find his daughter, Heather, lying on the floor with a syringe by her side; she was pronounced dead from an opioid overdose.

About 9 months later, his older son, Eugene, was found in his mother’s home overdosed and unable to be revived. The middle child, Roger, is Mr. Winemiller’s only surviving child. At age 60, he drives his son Roger to therapy and rehab treatment every week to help with major drug addictions Roger has had in the past including opioids, heroin, and methamphetamines.

Sadly this story is more common than we think, especially in small towns across the Midwest.

U.S. Consumption

The United States makes up about 5% of the world’s population, but consumes about 80% of the pain killer/opioid medication in the world. A lot of this stemmed from a research article published in the 80s. A pharmaceutical company made the claim that opioids aren’t addictive. With this major risk eliminated from pain treatment, hospitals all over the country began to treat pain as an illness. Hospitals found that the faster and more controlled pain was for patients, the higher patient satisfaction.

From Prescriptions to Heroin

The most common addiction sources are from sports and work related injuries. Studies have shown 7 out of every 10 long-term pain medication users (opioid users) transfer from opioids to heroin. They are usually prescribed to manage the pain– as doctors realize an addiction risk may be occurring, they stop prescribing. The addiction is often so strong, people look for alternatives to relieve the pain and achieve that “high.” Heroin is half the price of prescription drugs on the streets.

The problem is more prevalent in small towns – often attributed to work related injuries.

How It Began & Spread

The problem increased due to a small village in Mexico deciding to start a retail business in a small town in Ohio. The business was marketed as a delivery of heroin right to your doorstep– no need to meet in public place. They were one-man vehicles that would drive to the small towns and deliver door to door. This “retail business” spread to Kentucky and Indiana and is now all over the Midwest.

They have been hard to track because of operating under the radar.

Deaths in Peoria Area

In 2015, Peoria had 36 deaths that were attributed to opioid and heroin overdoses. In 2016, this number dropped to 32. The problem is if an individual is brought to the hospital and has no involvement in criminal action– their deaths from overdosing are classified as “accidental deaths”. There are proposals to change this to better understand the magnitude of the problem.

The CDC has identified the issues and developed guidelines

• Avoid prescribing opioids
• Establish treatmeant plans
• Utilize Narcan.

Physician Involvement

Last year a group of over 50 physicians from Peoria came together to discuss the issues with pain medication addictions and prescribing issues. They physicians in this area understand there is an issue that must be adjust– but the question is how. We cannot arrest our way out of this issue.

Three Levels of Dealers:

• #1 The Heavy Dealer
• #2 Dealer Users
• #3 The Users.

Brady spoke about prosecuting the heavy dealers, giving the Dealer Users an opportunity to get treatment and light charges. With level 3 treatment comes first.

Once addicted to opioids and heroin, it is a struggle people will deal with their entire lives.

For More Information:

Brady recommended watching a video on YouTube called Chasing the Dragon and reading the book named Dreamland.

Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel predicts that legalized marijuana will put more drugged drivers on Illinois roadways and cause more headaches for Illinois than all its tax revenue is worth.

Chief Weitzel was not allowed to testify during a recent legislative hearing on pro-marijuana legislation. He outlined his strong opposition to legalization in an interview with the Illinois Family Institute.

For more information about the topic of marijuana legalization, please visit this IFI resource page: Truth and Consequences of Marijuana

Download the IFI App!

We now have an IFI mobile app that enables us to deliver great content based on the “Tracks” you choose, including timely legislative alerts, cultural commentaries, upcoming event notifications, links to our podcasts, video reports, and even daily Bible verses to encourage you. This great app is available for Android and iPhones.

Key Features:

• It’s FREE!
• Specific content for Christians
• Performs a spiritual assessment
• Sends you daily Scriptures to encourage and equip you
• You determine when and how much content you get

An article in the Peoria County Star highlights the deadly spread of opiate abuse in cities across America, including Peoria, an example of middle America.

Peoria County States Attorney Jerry Brady will discuss this serious issue and answers questions.

Speaker:  Peoria County States Attorney Jerry Brady

When:  Thursday, June 22, 2017

Where:  North Branch Library (3001 W. Grand Parkway)

Time:  6:00 PM – 7:45 PM (Meet & Greet at 5:45)

Sponsored by Peoria Patriots

Only two witnesses were allowed to testify at the joint hearing on marijuana on April 19th.  Neither were from our side.

One was from the National Conference of State Legislators. The other was Barbara Brohl, the czar of Colorado’s marijuana program and the executive director of Colorado’s Department of Revenue.

Brohl told the panel the Colorado recreational marijuana program brought in nearly $200 million in new taxes last year on sales of over $1 Billion. Remember, this is less than 1 percent of their total budget. Ironically, this money funds drug abuse treatment and prevention programs and a portion goes to fund schools.

Brohl also told legislators about the problems they’re encountering by allowing residents to grow marijuana in their homes.  SB 316 and HB 2353 would allow residents to grow 6 plants.

Illinois State Senator Heather Steans and State Representative Kelly Cassidy are the sponsors of SB 316 and HB 2353. These bills legalize up to 28 grams of marijuana (about 60 joints) and allows facilities to sell it. Steans sees legalization as a revenue generator. “Every bit of new revenue will help to close the governor’s $5 Billion budget gap.”

Unfortunately, she and other proponents fail to see that the social costs will far outweigh any revenue gains. One group that’s now thriving in Colorado is the Black Market, now known as the “Gray Market.”

Colorado lawmakers are now introducing measures to combat the state’s newfound “gray market,” or marijuana that is grown legally but distributed illegally, Brohl said.

What is the Governor’s position?

Governor Bruce Rauner has said the idea needs more study, but legislators hope to change his mind.

“I think recreational marijuana is a very, very difficult subject,” Rauner said during an appearance in Rock Island earlier this month, saying Illinois should look at the impact that legalizing marijuana has had on the states that have already decriminalized the drug.

“I am not in support of Illinois going there until we study the ramifications of what’s happening in other states,” Rauner said, according to WQAD-TV. Read more

Take ACTION: Click HERE to ask your state senator and state representative to oppose any and all attempts to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state of Illinois. The drug is addictive and significantly impairs bodily and mental functions, even impairing fine motor skills for 72 hours or longer after usage.

More drugged people in the workplace, on the roads and in schools is terrible public policy and unacceptable for a state already in crisis.

Please also call Gov. Rauner’s office to encourage the him to oppose the legalization and to safeguard the public.  Call his Springfield office at (217) 782-6830 or his Chicago office at (312) 814-2121.

Click HERE to learn more about ILCAAAP.

Take ACTION: The most effective way to stop these bills is by calling your state representative and senator. Call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be connected to him/her at (217) 782-2000. Ask them to vote NO to SB 753 and HB 218.

An expert on the new generation of very potent marijuana is cautioning Illinois lawmakers against taking any steps that would weaken penalties for activities involving pot and other drugs.

IFI Forums: Climate Change & the Christian

Join us during the last week of April as we have Dr. Calvin Beisner, the founder & national spokesman for The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation discuss the Christian responsibility to the environment as we learn how to discern truth and myth in the climate change controversy.

April 25th in Rockford
April 26th in Arlington Heights
April 27th in Orland Park
April 28th in Peoria

Click HERE to learn more!

On January 1, 2014, an Illinois law went into effect  allowing marijuana for “medical” use. As a result, drugged driving is now on the rise in Illinois.

ABC News recently ran a report which you can view below:

Myth: Nobody ever died from cannabis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention data says otherwise.

More information on the harms of marijuana can be found here: www.illinoisfamily.org/marijuana.

Join IFI at our Feb. 18th Worldview Conference

We are excited about our third annual Worldview Conference featuring world-renowned theologian Dr. Frank Turek on Sat., Feb. 18, 2017 in Barrington. Dr. Turek is s a dynamic speaker and the award-winning author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”

Join us for a wonderful opportunity to take enhance your biblical worldview and equip you to more effectively engage the culture:

Click HERE to learn more or to register!