Lake Zurich drug forum postponed

A forum about the suburban drug culture planned for tonight at Lake Zurich High School has been postponed because of weather.

The forum has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the school, 300 Church Street.

Even though more than 100 people confirmed their attendance, forum organizer Michelle Hines said that when forecasters predicted up to a foot of snow for Tuesday, she started receiving cancellation notices and decided to postpone the event.

"We don't want people taking a risk in the snow," she said.

The free forum, open to teens and adults, will focus on the changing drug culture and will provide information on how to detect drug use and how to help someone who is using drugs.

Co-sponsored by the Lake Zurich Police Department, the forum will also feature expert speakers and suburban families who have been impacted by drugs like heroin.

In the past 14 months, three former Lake Zurich High School students have died of heroin overdoses. Lake County saw a record number of heroin deaths in 2009, and the neighboring villages of Palatine and Barrington each had one heroin-related death, police said.