STUMBO'S KBI STATE DOESN'T NEED OVERDOSE OF DRUG POLICE

Kentucky has a drug problem -- a huge drug problem.

Eastern Kentucky suffers from an epidemic of prescription drug abuse.
Methamphetamines have a hold on the western half of the. And old standbys of
cocaine and heroin remain ever present.

In his successful campaign to become the state's next attorney general, Greg
Stumbo promised that fighting drug abuse would be his No. 1 priority. Given
the seriousness of Kentucky's addiction to illicit drug use, we should
expect no less from the state's top prosecutor.

But prosecuting drug dealers is not all we expect from an attorney general,
which is one reason to be concerned about Stumbo's plans to create,
administratively, what he calls the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation.

Yes, Stumbo made creation of this new agency part of his drug-fighting plans
from the outset of his campaign. Even then, the necessity for it was
suspect, given the number of other law enforcement agencies focusing on drug
abuse.

But at least during the campaign, Stumbo's talk of a Kentucky Bureau of
Investigation included a suggestion for generating new revenue -- from an
increase in the cigarette tax -- to fund it. Now, though, he apparently
realizes that the odds on new revenue being funneled into his pet program
run about the same as the odds on a Clydesdale winning the Kentucky Derby.

With Gov. Ernie Fletcher's fellow Republicans dominating the legislative
process through their Senate majority, a Democratic attorney general who is
a potential challenger to Fletcher in 2007 won't get any additional money
that he can use to make a name for himself fighting drugs. No, any new money
committed to this cause will go to the Justice Cabinet headed by Lt. Gov.
Steve Pence, who has vowed to wage a war on drugs himself.

Which brings us to Stumbo's fallback position: using existing resources to
create his new drug-busting agency. Specifically, he plans to roll the 40
sworn officers now assigned to the attorney general's office into his
proposed KBI and focus their attention on drugs.

Two major drawbacks are readily apparent in Stumbo's plan.

First, the work of the KBI likely will duplicate the efforts of other
federal, state and even local law enforcement agencies.

Second, and perhaps more important, focusing the attention of these 40
officers on drugs means they will be diverted from the things they focused
on in the past, such as white collar crime, public corruption and welfare
fraud.

As our new attorney general, we expect Stumbo to be very active in fighting
the scourge of illegal drug use in Kentucky. But as bad as our drug problems
are, it would be a mistake to give short shrift to other criminal activity
just so Stumbo can have his own gang of drug-busters at his command.