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Outreach group urges harm‑reduction support as DEA reschedules ‘7‑OH’; announces Woodstock awareness event
Summary
Monica Andrade of Live for Lolli told the McHenry County Mental Health Board the group’s outreach and a family curriculum are helping people move toward treatment and warned that DEA rescheduling of 7‑OH may push users to street drugs; the group is organizing an Aug. 29 Overdose Awareness event in Woodstock Square.
Monica Andrade, outreach coordinator with nonprofit Live for Lolli, told the McHenry County Mental Health Board during public comment that her organization runs a 15‑week Invitation to Change curriculum for families and helps people across the substance‑use spectrum.
“And yesterday, they met with me and took a deep breath and said, ‘I think I’m ready to go to treatment,’” Andrade said, describing what she called a typical outcome of their harm‑reduction work. She said Live for Lolli meets participants “where they are” and helps them make autonomous choices without judgment.
Andrade urged board members to prepare for consequences of federal action targeting 7‑OH (sometimes sold as an herbal product at gas stations and vape shops), saying users who lose legal access may turn to illicit street opioids—an outcome she compared to earlier crackdowns on oxycodone. The group has been educating gas‑station and vape‑shop staff and coordinating referrals with local providers including NAMI, Thresholds, Turning Point and specialty courts.
She also invited the public to an International Overdose Awareness Day event organized with the Substance Awareness Coalition: Saturday, Aug. 29, 3–7 p.m. in Woodstock Square. The board thanked Andrade and the staff for the information.
Why it matters: Board members said the county’s funded network is a critical partner for grassroots harm‑reduction work, and Andrade’s remarks highlighted both prevention/education needs and an expected service demand shift tied to federal scheduling changes.
