Articles Posted in Drug Crimes

Over 300 arrests were made earlier this month after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations concluded a month-long investigation in the Midwest of convicted illegal aliens. Offenders have been arrested in Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas, and Indiana, but the state of Illinois holds more offenders than any other state involved.…

Drug abuse is an epidemic here in Illinois and throughout the United States. Unfortunately, those who abuse drugs are often thrown in jail for crimes instead of being put into some kind of rehabilitation program. For this reason, our jails are overcrowded with drug crime offenders, most of whom are there for nonviolent crimes. Then,…

Illinois is trying once again to follow other states in decriminalizing marijuana possession, but we are up against strong resistance from anti-marijuana advocates and law enforcement. Many states are rethinking their stand on marijuana. Four states – Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon – have legalized marijuana for recreational use. Numerous states, including Illinois’ 4-year pilot…

Drug crime charges are incredibly serious offenses, and can result in major fines, lengthy prison terms, and life-changing consequences for anyone who is convicted. Worse, the laws are so extensive and complicated and there are so many that you may not even understand what you did to get charged. That’s why it’s so important to…

It doesn’t matter if you just have a little bit. Or if you forgot that it was there. Or if you were in the privacy of your own home. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act criminalizes the knowing manufacturing, delivery, and possession of drugs. If you are in possession of a controlled substance, there are two…

According to authorities, a deadly batch of heroin has swept through the West Side of Chicago. Recently there were 23 reported overdoses in Chicago within the same 24 hour period. After 72 hours, that number had jumped to 74. Police say that many of the users allege that they obtained the heroin from the same…

As our state continues to battle with its growing heroin and prescription pill abuse problems, Illinois lawmakers are scrambling for solutions. According to reporters from the Chicago Tribune, heroin fatalities have skyrocketed in the last four years. Last year alone, more than 633 people died from heroin overdose in Illinois. Heroin abuse has been closely…

Two separate marijuana-related incidents highlight Chicago police officers’ haste to make drug crime arrests—often at the expense of civil rights. The two reported incidents, four years apart, demonstrate how officers may hold suspects of drug offenses for hours in an attempt to force them to confess or incriminate others. In both the 2010 and 2014…

Although Chicago jails are packed with offenders of low-level drug crimes, the drug crime rate in the city continues to trump national averages. Every month, hundreds of marijuana arrests are made in Cook County alone. As Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez explained to reporters from the Chicago Tribune, “what we are currently doing here…

While adolescent drug use is certainly not a new phenomenon, it does seem that the trend has been picking up steam in recent years. With shows like Breaking Bad and Weeds reaching such remarkable levels of popularity, it appears as though illicit drug use is becoming more widely acceptable among the public, especially among young…