BATTLING DRUGS IN KENTUCKY

Those who live and work in Kentucky's communities are more familiar
with the substance abuse issues affecting their areas than anyone.

For that reason, the team that Gov. Ernie Fletcher and I charged to
assess drug problems in our commonwealth is spending time in every
region of Kentucky listening to citizens - medical professionals,
judges, prosecutors, dedicated teachers, highly skilled law
enforcement officers, treatment specialists, former substance abusers
and parents - about their ideas for combating drug abuse in their
communities and on the effectiveness of existing drug programs in
their regions.

The team - the Statewide Drug Control Assessment Summit - is
considering all of the input it is receiving from citizens in the
Louisville area and across the state as it discusses the
recommendations it will make to Fletcher this summer on a statewide
drug control policy.

There is no question that we must change the way that substance abuse
is addressed in Kentucky. The solutions must be long-term and come at
the drug problem with the right balance of prevention-education,
treatment and enforcement.

Implementing such a comprehensive strategy will not be a simple or
speedy process, and once a plan is in place, it will take time for us
to see the results.

The feedback the summit received at the public input meeting it held
this month in Louisville and through questionnaires from people in
Jefferson and surrounding counties indicates some of the intensive
work that may be ahead in reducing the drug problems in our
commonwealth.

The forum in Louisville was the 14th of the 16 regional public input
meetings that the summit conducted throughout Kentucky. Residents of
Jefferson, Bullitt, Spencer, Shelby, Oldham, Henry and Trimble
counties were invited to attend. During the public meeting and through
questionnaires, the people who live and work in those counties have
told the summit team, that their communities need:

a.. More drug courts.

a.. More drug treatment facilities.

a.. Shorter waiting periods for admittance to existing treatment
programs.

a.. Science-based drug prevention and education programs for children
in public schools and more education programs for adults and parents.

a.. More communication between law enforcement agencies about drug
issues.

a.. And better coordinated strategies, with measurable objectives, for
law enforcement to use in addressing drug issues in their
communities.

These messages, as well as the call for stabilized funding in each
area, have been echoed across the commonwealth. The summit team is
finding that that list of needs is very similar in every community.

Clearly, these issues, along with the data collected from hundreds of
questionnaires from federal, state and local program leaders, will be
among the top subjects the summit panels will discuss when they begin
considering the recommendations that the group will make to Fletcher
in May and June.

There will not be a quick fix to the drug problems in the
commonwealth. Our communities will need patience and resolve as we
work together to see those recommendations through to results.

Once a comprehensive and more balanced statewide drug control policy
is at work, we should all expect greater achievements in reducing
substance abuse trafficking and use. In addition, the commonwealth
will be making the best use of its resources by directing tax dollars
to drug control methods that are proven to work.

Kentuckians have made the public input portion of the assessment a
success by taking time to share their knowledge about substance abuse
in their communities with the summit. If you have not been able to do
so yet, there is still time to make suggestions.

To complete a questionnaire about substance abuse issues in your
community and learn more about the Statewide Drug Control Assessment
Summit, please visit www.kydrugsummit.ky.gov, or call (859) 622-1328
to request a paper copy of the questionnaire.

I urge all Kentuckians to join us in our efforts.