{"id":20808,"date":"2026-03-07T18:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T17:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=20808"},"modified":"2026-03-07T18:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T17:46:29","slug":"high-schoolers-flood-state-capitol-to-advocate-for-drug-abuse-prevention-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2026\/03\/high-schoolers-flood-state-capitol-to-advocate-for-drug-abuse-prevention-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"High Schoolers Flood State Capitol to Advocate for Drug Abuse Prevention Bills"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"submitted\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">by <em>Georgia Epiphaniou, Jacques Abou-Rizk,<\/em> Medill Illinois News Bureau\u00a0|\u00a0Capitol News Illinois\u00a0| February 27, 2026, 5:02 pm<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"sticky-social\" class=\"social-share-container\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"social-share addToAny_buttons a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-20809\" src=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Students-at-Capitol.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1133\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Students-at-Capitol.jpg 1133w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Students-at-Capitol-640x362.jpg 640w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Students-at-Capitol-1024x578.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Students-at-Capitol-768x434.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1133px) 100vw, 1133px\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-container\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><em><span class=\"image-full standalone-image\"><span class=\"caption\">Students with the Illinois Prevention Network at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, pushing for bills aimed at drug regulation and reduction. (Courtesy of Kate Bell \/ Illinois Prevention Network)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><em>by Georgia Epiphaniou, Jacques Abou-Rizk and Medill Illinois News Bureau, Capitol News Illinois<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">SPRINGFIELD \u2014 Youth advocates against substance abuse swarmed the Capitol this week, navigating their way into lawmakers\u2019 offices, sharing their experiences in school and addressing what they viewed as gaps in Illinois\u2019 drug and alcohol regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Brought together by the Illinois Prevention Network \u2013 a coalition of organizations working to create safe, healthy and drug-free communities in Illinois \u2013 high schoolers canvassed the Capitol on Wednesday in support of bills aimed at reducing and regulating substance use throughout Illinois.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cMany kids, myself included, often feel as though we don\u2019t have much power to do things and change things in the world,\u201d Amber Diepenbrock, 14, of Wredling Middle School in St. Charles, said. \u201cI\u2019m here because I want to be able to represent kids my age more and talk about the problems I\u2019m seeing in my own school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Kratom Regulation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Kratom is a plant that\u2019s used as a\u00a0stimulant and opioid substitute. Currently, it is only regulated by the 2014\u00a0Kratom Control Act, which makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase the substance. Five bills currently in House committees seek to amend or replace the act.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Kratom acts as a stimulant, but can also act as a cardiac or a respiratory depressant, similar to opioid. The drug is\u00a0not Food and Drug Administration approved, with the organization warning consumers against its use because of the risk of serious adverse effects, including seizures, drug-induced liver injuries and substance-use disorder. In 2018,\u00a0the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found\u00a0salmonella contamination in kratom products. The FDA said it is often used \u201cto self-treat conditions such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder, and opioid withdrawal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">House Bill 1303\u00a0and\u00a0House Bill 3127\u00a0seek to raise the age restriction to 21 and prohibit child-attractive products while imposing a 5% retail tax.\u00a0House Bill 3215\u00a0would create a registration and labeling system for kratom products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">House Bill 3129\u00a0would add kratom\u2019s active compounds as Schedule III controlled substances and repeal the existing Kratom Control Act. It would essentially ban the substance in Illinois with the exception of some medical uses. Another bill,\u00a0House Bill 4930, would take the hardest line, prohibiting the distribution, manufacture and sale of kratom entirely unless they have been approved by the FDA. All five were referred to the House Rules Committee in March, 2025, meaning they all have a long way to go legislatively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Senate Bill 1570, which is also awaiting a committee assignment, would effectively ban kratom for all individuals, regardless of age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, citing\u00a0six kratom-related deaths in Tazewell County in 2023, said there is a need to regulate the drug, but he emphasized a complete ban would be more effective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cNobody really knows (how it works), so it has to be regulated,\u201d Hauter, who is a physician, said. \u201cMore and more, municipalities are just saying to ban it completely. It&#8217;s so easily available, and it&#8217;s hard to regulate it, so they&#8217;re just banning it totally so nobody can have it unless they go to a municipality where they can buy it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Yana Malpani, a 17-year-old senior at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, who is also president of its Catalyst substance prevention program, said that she has observed excessive use of both unregulated cannabis derivatives and kratom among teenagers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cThis is because it&#8217;s so accessible at gas stations, feed shops and convenience stores, anyone can technically go and purchase it without realizing,\u201d Malpani said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">A lot of kratom products, such as candy and vapes, are marketed with bright colors, enticing teenagers to purchase them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cKratom and delta-8 are being marketed as products that look identical to candies,\u201d Malpani said. \u201cWe aren&#8217;t able to tell if it is candy or not unless you really look at the fine print.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Lowering the Legal Blood-Alcohol Content Limit<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">The group also pushed for\u00a0House Bill 4333, which aims to lower the legal blood-alcohol content limit from 0.08 to 0.05 for DUIs. The bill is awaiting a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Fifteen percent of alcohol-related deaths happen to drivers with a BAC less than 0.08, and crash risks are seven times higher for those testing at 0.05 than sober driving,\u00a0according to a Boston Medical Center study.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cRight now, if your blood alcohol content is at 0.08, you\u2019ll get a DUI,\u201d Malpani said. \u201cThe problem is at 0.06, you become legally and physically impaired to drive. But right now, I can be at 0.06 and get behind the wheel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Utah experienced a 19.8% drop in fatal crashes in one year after lowering the BAC to 0.05 in 2018, according to the\u00a0National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Youth Advocacy for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Diepenbrock emphasized that although she and other students are unable to vote, their voice plays an important role in the push to regulate drug and alcohol use among youth. She said she\u2019s seen students pass vapes and other substances around in her school and the impact it has on teenagers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cWhen you actually try and look deeper into it, you can see the effects and how it impacts not only an adult, but also a child,\u201d Diepenbrock said. \u201cA child may not get their hands on a drug, but their parents may, and that can heavily impact them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Hauter said that it is important to include the youth in the drafting of such legislation to raise awareness for the effects of drug usage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cI think it&#8217;s time that Illinois took this seriously,\u201d Hauter said. \u201cI can&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s taken this long, because, you know, this is one of those things that we need to address.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">How drug and alcohol-use policy affects teenagers is often left out of legislation, Malpani said, failing to address a major contributor to underage DUIs. In 2024, 245 drivers in Illinois under the age of 21 lost their license due to drug and alcohol use while driving,\u00a0according to a report\u00a0by the secretary of state\u2019s office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Illinois State Police report\u00a0that drivers under age 21 represent 10% of licensed drivers but are involved in 17% of alcohol-related fatal crashes and that crashes are a leading cause of death for teens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">\u201cI think a lot of times policy around substance-use prevention is drafted by adults who don\u2019t have a full understanding of how the policy affects their teens and high schoolers,\u201d Malpani said. \u201cSo right now, I think having youth draft the policy themselves is so much more beneficial because we know how it affects us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Georgia Epiphaniou and Jacques Abou-Rizk are graduate students in journalism with Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and fellows in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\"><em>Capitol News Illinois<\/em><em>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: #0000ff;\">Source: https:\/\/news.wttw.com\/2026\/02\/27\/high-schoolers-flood-state-capitol-advocate-drug-abuse-prevention-bills<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Georgia Epiphaniou, Jacques Abou-Rizk, Medill Illinois News Bureau\u00a0|\u00a0Capitol News Illinois\u00a0| February 27, 2026, 5:02 pm \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students with the Illinois Prevention Network at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, pushing for bills aimed at drug regulation and reduction. (Courtesy of Kate Bell \/ Illinois Prevention Network) by Georgia Epiphaniou, Jacques Abou-Rizk and Medill [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[144,29,124,142,40,139,19,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-age-related","category-alcohol","category-kratom","category-latest-news","category-prevention-research","category-strategy-and-policy","category-usa","category-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20808"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20812,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20808\/revisions\/20812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}