A recent Gallup poll showed more than half of Americans favor legalizing marijuana, more than ever before. And with state and local budgets being stretched thin, some communities are seeing a tendency for law enforcement to let pot possession slide without official criminal charges. According to the Sun-Times, this trend has led to a virtual decriminalization of pot within the city of Chicago. read more

Called the “fastest growing drug problem” in the country in this Chicago Sun-Times article, prescription drug abuse has hit communities of all sizes and all types. The lure of prescription drugs is the ease in which they can be obtained and their potent high. read more

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently did a feature on Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center, a unique prison designed specifically to help offenders who are incarcerated and battling drug addiction. As the article details, sometimes prison is the wakeup call that addicts need to get their lives straight. read more