As fears over heroin use have diminished in recent years, the drug has become more potent, cheaper and no longer requires the user to inject it with a needle, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Access has also become easy for those living in the suburbs and has claimed many teenage lives.
Heroin is readily available along a corridor know as "Heroin Highway"— at Interstates 290 and 88. Chicago gang members work with the Mexican cartels to get the drug, according to the Tribune.
To address this health concern, the Illinois Crime Commission proposed arming all first responders with heroin overdose rescue kits, which would contain a dose of Naloxone—an opiate overdose reversal drug—and a syringe, according to the Daily Herald. They promoted this idea during the March 9 "Heroin Summit" in Chicago Heights.
The Illinois State Crime Commission is looking to drum up support for the kits in coming months. It is unclear how many would be needed and how much, overall, the kits would cost, according to the article. Each kit is estimated to cost around $20.
Do you think the overdose rescue kits are a step in the right direction? What do you think needs to be done to curb heroin use in the Chicago suburbs?