2019 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Drugs
Bill Lee:
Fight Medicaid fraudulent distribution of opioid medications
Another way to lower health care cost is to combat Medicaid fraud. Tackling fraud in Medicaid is particularly important as we work to prevent the fraudulent distribution of opioid medications.
To support that effort, we are creating 24 new positions in the state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Together these efforts will place downward pressure on the cost of coverage.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Tennessee legislature
Mar 6, 2019
Bill Lee:
Drug traffickers should fear Tennessee
We must also take bold steps to stop the scourge of drugs illegally trafficked into our state. I pledged to make Tennessee a state that drug traffickers fear, and I will make sure that our prosecutors and our law enforcement have the tools they need to
make that a reality. We are increasing the penalties on dangerous drugs like fentanyl and making it clear that we will have no leniency on high level drug dealers who target the residents of this state.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Tennessee legislature
Mar 6, 2019
Mike DeWine:
Focus on children of drug abusers; and help parents
We are going to educate children on the dangers of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and teach them the skills on how to make healthy decisions throughout their lives. We are going to expand wrap-around service models, such as our Ohio Sobriety,
Treatment, Abuse, and Reducing Trauma program, known as OhioSTART. It provides specialized victim services to children who have been abused or neglected because of parental drug use, and it provides drug treatment for those parents.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Ohio legislature
Mar 5, 2019
J.B. Pritzker:
Legal marijuana will raise revenue & create jobs
By legalizing and regulating adult-use cannabis, we will create jobs and bring in $170 million in licensing and other fees in fiscal year 2020. I don't view this issue through a purely financial lens. I think we should take this action for our state
because of the beneficial criminal and social justice implications and the jobs it will create. Like it or not, cannabis is readily available right now. I would rather tax it and regulate it than deny the reality of its use and accessibility.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Illinois legislature
Feb 20, 2019
Kevin Stitt:
Help non-violent offenders: identify roots of addiction
We are number one in the nation for incarceration. To move the needle, it will require us to change the way we see the person who is in a cycle of incarceration for non-violent crimes. It is why my budget requests: $1.5 million to Women in
Recovery, a public-private partnership to help women identify the roots of their addictions and develop life skills, and $10 million to the County Community Safety Investment Fund
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Oklahoma legislature
Feb 4, 2019
Mike Dunleavy:
More enforcement but also more drug treatment
We will provide the focus & the resources necessary to combat the scourge of opiates and other illicit drugs driving up our crime rates and ruining lives: additional State Troopers, and more prosecutors.For those Alaskans who have made a mistake and
have gotten involved with opiates or other drugs and want help, we are a compassionate people. Therefore, as part of our public safety approach we will provide ways for you to break this habit and get back into society and be productive individuals.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Alaska legislature
Jan 22, 2019
Brian Kemp:
Deport drug cartel kingpins
The Georgia Gang Investigators Association [concludes] there are over 71,000 validated gang affiliates and 1,500 suspected gang networks in our state. These gangs are pawns for Mexican drug cartels--pushing opioids and drugs, buying and selling children
for sex. By utilizing the Criminal Gang and Criminal Alien Database, which will be funded with existing resources from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, we can track and deport drug cartel kingpins who are terrorizing our communities.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Georgia legislature
Jan 17, 2019
Steve Sisolak:
Marijuana industry to be critical part of economy
One of those sectors is the rapidly growing marijuana industry. That's why I'm announcing that I will sign an Executive Order creating Nevada's first-ever Cannabis Compliance Board, which will ensure this critical
part of our state's future economy is positioned to become a gold standard for the nation. We will manage and grow this new industry strictly and fairly and in a way the State can be proud of.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Nevada legislature
Jan 16, 2019
Andrew Cuomo:
Let's create cannabis industry
Legalize adult-used cannabis. Stop the disproportionate criminal impact on communities of color. And let's create an industry that empowers the
poor communities that pay the price and not the rich corporations who come in to make a profit.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the New York legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Phil Murphy:
Legalize adult-use marijuana; undo past convictions
By legalizing adult-use marijuana we can reverse the inequality and unfairness left from years of failed drug policies and shift public safety resources to where they can do the most good. We must ensure that those with a past mark on their records
because of a low-level offense can have that stain removed, so they can move forward to get a stable job or an education. But it will also allow us to broadly benefit from creating an entirely new and legal industry.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to New Jersey legislature
Jan 15, 2019
Jim Justice:
Jim's Dream: job training program for drug addicts
We've got to fix the drug problem. The very number one thing you had to have to get the drug problem halfway under control is jobs. But you know what? We're losing the battle. We're losing. So I'm going to ask you tonight to trust me. I'm going to
propose a program called "Jim's Dream." because I want it to be just that. I want it to be a dream that we can take our people off this terrible drug trail, and we can put them in a job, and we can give them real live hope.Why don't we some way,
somehow, let our people that are struggling on drugs beyond belief go get treatment for free, provided that they'll come out of treatment and go into some level of training and provided they'll take constant drug tests?
If I'm an addict, and
I go to treatment and I get better and then I go into some level of training and I get a certificate, that I will be able to take that to a court and get immediate expungement of a misdemeanor that I have. Not felonies, but a misdemeanor.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to West Virginia legislature
Jan 9, 2019
Jim Justice:
Jim's Dream: $10M for equipment at vo-tech training centers
I'm going to call this "Jim's Dream," because I want it to be just that. I want it to be a dream that we can take our people off this terrible drug trail, and we can put them in a job, and we can give them real live hope.It's going to take some money
to do this. Not all the money in the world.
The "J" is going to stand for "jobs." The "I" is going to be "in." The "M" is going to be "making." And the little apostrophe is upside down, and we twisted it around to make a "U." "Succeed." Now, looks a
little funny, doesn't it? But it looks pretty much like I'd probably write.
But here's what I think we need to do: I think our best alternative today is the adult training in the education department. And here's the problem: Nobody's really going
today. The reason nobody's really going is it's not real training that they can go get a real job. But what I'm going to ask you for is $10,000,000 for staffing and replacement and maintenance of equipment at the training centers, at the vo-tech centers.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to West Virginia legislature
Jan 9, 2019
Jim Justice:
Adamantly opposed to recreational marijuana, but medical ok
As far as medical cannabis, we need to solve the riddle, guys. We're running out of time. There's a lot of people out there that are hurting, and they could probably very well use medical cannabis.
I want everyone here to understand -- I am adamantly, adamantly, etched in stone, adamantly against recreational marijuana.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to West Virginia legislature
Jan 9, 2019
Ralph Northam:
Think innovatively about treating pain, to avoid opioids
Few issues are more deserving of our intense focus than the opioid crisis. Last year, we lost 1,227 Virginians to opioid overdose. We lost 1,534 Virginians to overdoses from all drugs.Physicians need to think more innovatively about the ways we treat
acute and chronic pain. [One] high school football [athlete broke his leg and] was rushed to the hospital and started on dilaudid for his pain. He was prescribed other narcotics and became addicted. When his prescriptions ran out, he turned to heroin,
and then fentanyl. To support his addiction and to avoid the symptoms of being dopesick, he took actions that led to run-ins with the law. Eventually he spent 18 months in jail.
With medically assisted treatment and counseling, the support
of his family, and a strong faith in God, he has been clean for over a year. He and his father have put their family's story together in a powerful video. Please welcome Ryan Hall and his father, Sheriff Kevin Hall, to the gallery.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Virginia legislature
Jan 9, 2019
Ralph Northam:
Make marijuana possession a civil penalty only
For the third year in a row, our prison recidivism rate is the lowest in the country. This is due to our re-entry programs and treatment offered by the Virginia Department of Corrections. We want to keep people safe.
But we shouldn't use valuable law enforcement time, or costly prison space, on laws that don't enhance public safety. So I'm proposing that we decriminalize simple possession of marijuana.
Current law imposes a maximum 30 days in jail for a first offense of marijuana possession. Making simple possession a civil penalty will ease overcrowding in our jails and prisons, and free up our law enforcement and court resources for
offenses that are a true threat to public safety.
Moving forward on this front will have the same significance as our work together to increase the felony larceny threshold: one mistake won't define Virginians for the rest of their lives.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Virginia legislature
Jan 9, 2019
Brad Little:
Five-year plan to face the scourge of opioid addiction
Former offenders cannot be successful after reentry and on parole if we don't have the necessary bed space and programs--such as drug courts--to halt the revolving door. Help for substance abuse is often only available once a person becomes an offender.
There is a clear nexus between mental health and substance abuse.Communities across Idaho face the scourge of opioid addiction and other substance abuse problems. Two years ago, the Idaho Office of Drug Policy and the Department of Health and
Welfare convened a stakeholder group that put together a strategic five-year action plan on tackling the issue of opioid addiction in Idaho.
We know the challenge is larger than just opioid addiction. Many problems that begin with opioids evolve into
heroin and fentanyl. Looking ahead, I will issue an executive order on substance abuse--formalizing this existing opioid plan, broadening these efforts, directing future resources, and creating non-offender programs for substance abuse.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Idaho legislature
Jan 7, 2019
Charlie Baker:
Four pillars: prevention, education, treatment and recovery
On opioid addiction we've made great progress. But we didn't get into this crisis overnight and we won't get out of it overnight either. This Legislature enacted two major bills that build on our four pillars of reform: prevention, education,
treatment and recovery.Today, we're one of a handful of states that can say that overdose deaths have dropped since 2017. There are interventions and policy changes that have worked and others that show promise.
We also added initiatives like credentialed recovery coaches that will be coming online throughout 2019 and beyond.
Dealing with opioid addiction is enormously difficult. Relapse is an inevitable part of the story.
Helping people avoid becoming addicted in the first place remains a challenge. And defusing the presence of fentanyl, which is now present in 90% of all drug overdose deaths, is an enormous challenge.
Source: 2019 Massachusetts governor inaugural (State of the State)
Jan 3, 2019
Chris Sununu:
Recovery Friendly Workplaces: help in fighting drugs
I want to take a moment and talk about Recovery Friendly Workplaces which hit a milestone last month. Through this program, we utilize the support of the business community to create workplaces that become part of an individual's recovery. As of today
63 businesses, with over 40,000 employees, have signed up to join the initiative. We are taking whole new approaches to fighting addiction. Public sector, private sector, you name it. We have innovative solutions and the country is taking notice.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to New Hampshire legislature
Jan 3, 2019
Doug Burgum:
Remove shame and stigma from the disease of addiction
Addiction and mental health issues can keep us from reaching our fullest potential. Our state suffers from a behavioral health crisis, which carries significant negative impacts for our people--our families--and our economy. The First Lady has been
an incredibly courageous leader in addressing head-on the disease of addiction--with the goal of eliminating the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction so we can normalize the conversation like we do around any other chronic, progressive, and
ultimately fatal disease. In October, more than 1,200 people attended our second annual Recovery Reinvented summit in person or online--sharing best practices and further lifting the veil of shame and stigma. We're also seeing progress with
Free Through Recovery--a program that provides effective, community-based behavioral health services to help those involved with the criminal justice system and struggling with addiction.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to North Dakota Legislature
Jan 3, 2019
Page last updated: Apr 02, 2019