NEW STRATEGY NEEDED TO DEAL WITH DRUG PROBLEMS

We are losing the war on drugs not only because we have been inept in
our strategy to fight it, but because we have not been fully aware of
the nature and extent of problem. While we have made progress on
several fronts in the war against drugs, winning it requires a
comprehensive strategy.

The statistics are staggering. In the last two years, close to a
million marijuana plants were seized and destroyed in Kentucky.
Forty-one percent of our high school students have smoked marijuana at
least once. Cocaine and "club drugs" such as LSD and Ecstasy are still
common in Kentucky's metropolitan areas. And in 2002, 238 pounds of
cocaine were seized in Kentucky. The overwhelming prevalence of these
drugs continues to thwart local efforts to reduce substance abuse.

Other drugs are also making inroads in Kentucky. While serving as U.S.
Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, my office was
overwhelmed with cases involving crystal methamphetamine abuse, while
abuse of prescription drugs such as OxyContin plagued eastern
Kentucky. Abuse of both types of drugs is now found throughout the
state. State prosecutors report that their offices are inundated with
methamphetamine and prescription drug cases.

Other statistics support the need to change the way we fight this
scourge. From 1998 to 2004, crystal methamphetamine lab seizures in
Kentucky rose from 19 to 449. Experts predict that more labs will
appear. In addition, distribution of Hydrocodone, a common painkiller,
is higher in Kentucky than the national average and than that of
surrounding states. Pharmacies in Kentucky have suffered a growing
number of prescription drug robberies. The influx of drug crime alone
signals a need to quell this growing problem.

I have spent a good portion of my career prosecuting drug offenders,
and I believe we should enforce our laws to their fullest extent.
However, getting tough on drug crimes alone does not reduce the flow
of drugs into our communities. As long as there is a proliferation of
addicts and abusers who are willing to buy, there will always be
someone willing to find a way to acquire and sell drugs.

Today, of the 17,000 inmates in Kentucky's prisons, 2,000 are
incarcerated solely for drug crimes, while 4,587 have at least one
drug crime on their record. Historically, we have measured our success
in the war on drugs by incarceration rates, but this measurement is
only one factor to consider. Kentucky's drug problem continues to
proliferate despite high incarceration rates.

It's obvious a new approach to Kentucky's drug problem is needed. Gov.
Ernie Fletcher and I directed that a panel be formed to assess our
current approach. This panel -- the Kentucky Statewide Drug Control
Assessment Summit -- will make recommendations on how we can best use
and marshal our state's resources to make a difference through a more
collaborative and balanced attack.

The Statewide Drug Control Assessment Summit is assessing programs in
three broad areas: education-prevention, treatment and enforcement at
the local, state and federal levels.

To truly be a collaborative effort, the Summit needs input from people
who see the drug problem firsthand -- not only from those who work
daily in the areas of drug prevention-education, treatment and
enforcement, but also from all citizens of Kentucky.

Along with public input, the Summit has been asked
to:

- -- Define, through collaborative assessment, the extent of the overall
substance abuse problems in Kentucky.

- -- Assess existing drug control efforts including state
laws.

- -- Identify gaps and duplication of services.

- -- Identify federal, state and local funding sources and make
recommendations for streamlining and maximizing these resources.

- -- Recommend program priorities and expenditure levels within state
government, and how program accountability should be addressed by
administering agencies.

- -- Recommend any necessary modernization, changes, additional
legislation or Kentucky Administrative Regulations to effectively
address substance abuse and trafficking in the state.

The Kentucky Drug Control Summit is not funded with state taxpayer
dollars. Instead, Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
(HIDTA) funding and asset forfeiture funds -- money the courts have
confiscated from drug dealers and awarded to the Kentucky State Police
and Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement -- will underwrite this initiative.
It is only fair that convicted drug traffickers pay for Kentucky's
Drug Assessment Summit. The Summit's approach is clear, and taxpayers
can no longer bear the burdens of substance abuse.

This approach will require a new way of thinking. It will require
breaking down walls between the many local, state and federal offices
now working in this area. Above all, it will require resolve. But I am
confident it is the right approach for our state if we are to be
competent in both our knowledge of the problem and our strategy to
fight it.

Visit the Web site at www.drugsummit.ky.gov or attend one of the
public meetings being held around the state. I urge all Kentuckians to
join us in our efforts.

To Attend

Steve Pence will be in Owensboro from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the
Executive Inn Rivermont as part of a statewide series to discuss plans
to combat Kentucky's drug problems.