State of Kentucky Archives: on Drugs

Charles Booker: Legalize cannabis, commute sentences, expunge records

Amy McGrath: Will work for real investments in tackling opioid crisis

Amy McGrath: For medical cannabis; research full legalization

Charles Booker: Legalize cannabis and expunge records related to it

Steven Cox: Follow Colorado in legalizing & taxing cannabis

Robert Goforth: Project DARIS: combat drugs by educating students

Now, I'm running for governor because Kentucky deserves a choice. I will support our teachers and public education, fund public pensions, combat drugs, fix our infrastructure and help Kentucky live up to its greatest potential. I humbly ask for your vote and support in the primary election.

Andy Beshear: Legalize medical marijuana; maybe it'll replace opioids

Adam Edelen: More beds in Kentucky to treat the scourge of addition

• Adam Edelen will work to ensure that funds recovered from out of the state pharmaceutical companies who created this problem go toward community based addiction treatment.
• Expanded Drug Court: Offer a path toward recovery and for low level and first time drug offenders.
• We can prevent thousands of our people from entering the criminal justice pipeline, and also help keep Kentucky families intact as one of their loved ones received the tools and skills they need.

Andy Beshear: Sue opioid manufacturers & distributors who flood market

Rocky Adkins: Prohibit advertising of opiates and opioids

Legislative outcome:Died via Corrections Impact.

Andy Beshear: Funding for prevention; focus on opioid disposal & treatment

"These [lawsuits] give us the possibility, if these companies will be responsible and accountable, at having that moment where, maybe, we can put this crisis behind us," Beshear said. "We can have the funding for prevention, for opioid disposal, where we can clean out every single medicine cabinet in Kentucky, where everyone who needs treatment can get it, and then we have the services and recovery to keep people well."

Matt Bevin: Crack down on drug dealers and others who abuse the system

Robert Goforth: Regulate and tax medical marijuana

• exempt the medicinal marijuana program from existing provisions in Kentucky law to the contrary
• implement and regulate the medicinal marijuana program in Kentucky
• establish the Division of Medicinal Marijuana within the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control
• establish restrictions on the possession of and cultivation for personal use of medicinal marijuana
• prohibit the possession and use of medicinal marijuana at schools, in correctional facilities, any property of the federal government, or while operating a motor vehicle
• prohibit smoking of medicinal marijuana on public transportation, or in public places
• establish the medicinal marijuana trust fund, with 10% of money returned to dispensaries for use by indigent persons.

Rocky Adkins: Regulate and tax medical marijuana

• exempt the medicinal marijuana program from existing provisions in Kentucky law to the contrary
• implement and regulate the medicinal marijuana program in Kentucky
• establish the Division of Medicinal Marijuana within the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control
• establish restrictions on the possession of and cultivation for personal use of medicinal marijuana
• prohibit the possession and use of medicinal marijuana at schools, in correctional facilities, any property of the federal government, or while operating a motor vehicle
• prohibit smoking of medicinal marijuana on public transportation, or in public places
• establish the medicinal marijuana trust fund, with 10% of money returned to dispensaries for use by indigent persons.

James Comer: Help farmers with first hemp program in Kentucky

A federal representative with this type of experience will guarantee that the priorities of Kentucky's agriculture community will be heard in Washington. Against all odds, I led the General Assembly and our federal delegation to initiate the first hemp program in Kentucky. Having proven that I can create new opportunities for farmers, I look forward to bringing those same types of innovative ideas to the House Agriculture Committee. If elected, I will be the only former Commissioner of Agriculture in Congress.

C. Wesley Morgan: Don't legalize marijuana; no drug addiction program

A: No.

Q: Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Kentucky?

A: No.

Q: Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?

A: Yes. I support public interest work such as community service as well as rehabilitation over incarceration.

Jim Gray: Fully fund drug treatment and addiction recovery

Earlier in the year, President Barack Obama asked Congress to provide $960 million with the act, but Congress didn't include funding. Gray criticized Paul for not voting for an amendment that would allocate about $600 million with the bill.

Paul's spokeswoman said the senator voted for a Republican omnibus bill that would have provided $1.5 billion for addiction prevention and treatment last year.

Jack Conway: Fight prescription drug abuse; set up treatment centers

• In 2007, the Office of the Attorney General filed suit against Purdue Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of OxyContin, alleging the company mislead health-care professionals about the dangers and addictive nature of the drug. The suit seeks damages for the devastation wrought in Kentucky by Oxycontin. Jack has vowed to invest settlement or jury award funds in expanding substance abuse treatment in Kentucky.
• In January, Jack announced that more than $32 million he secured in settlements with two pharmaceutical companies will be used to expand substance abuse treatment across the Commonwealth.
• Approximately $18 million was allocated to create the KY Kids Recovery grant program. In August, Jack announced that 19 substance abuse treatment grants would foster public-private partnerships to expand and create adolescent treatment programs with a full continuum of care.

Alison Grimes: Have a discussion about marijuana legalization

Grimes criticized Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell for not realizing the "economic benefits" the state of Colorado has enjoyed after legalizing recreational use of marijuana, adding that she's "in favor of having the discussion, especially to reclassify the use of marijuana."

"We haven't had a senator who's even wanted to have those discussions though," Grimes said.

A spokesman for McConnell's Senate office, said in a statement later that "Senator McConnell is strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana as Kentucky families deserve no less."

A February poll of registered Kentucky voters found that 52% favored "allowing the use of medical marijuana in Kentucky," with 37% opposed & 12% not sure.

Mitch McConnell: Strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana

On marijuana, Grimes criticized Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell for not realizing the "economic benefits" the state of Colorado has enjoyed after legalizing recreational use of marijuana, adding that she's "in favor of having the discussion, especially to reclassify the use of marijuana."

"We haven't had a senator who's even wanted to have those discussions though," Grimes said.

A spokesman for McConnell's Senate office, said in a statement later Thursday that "Senator McConnell is strongly opposed to legalization of marijuana as Kentucky families deserve no less."

A February poll of registered Kentucky voters found that 52% favored "allowing the use of medical marijuana in Kentucky," with 37% opposed & 12% not sure.

Steve Beshear: KASPER: KY All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting

• When it came to non-medical use of prescription painkillers, Kentucky at one time had the 6th highest rate in the nation. But prescription drug abuse in Kentucky has dropped so much that we improved 24 spots.
• Furthermore, nearly half of the state's known pain management clinics have closed rather than submit to new rules that protect patients.
• The use of our nationally recognized prescription monitoring program, KASPER, has increased nearly 7-fold as providers work to ensure that painkillers are being used legally and effectively.
• And prescriptions for some of the most abused drugs have dropped up to 14% from a year ago.

Steve Beshear: Reduce historic addiction to tobacco with smoke-free law

Yet we've never instituted a statewide law to protect Kentuckians from second-hand smoke. More than half the states in the nation have smoke-free laws. So do three dozen cities and counties in Kentucky. In fact, nearly half of Kentucky's citizens live in communities that have adopted protections for their residents & workers. It's time for us to begin looking seriously at doing this on a statewide level--to extend this protection for all our citizens. Six in 10 Kentucky adults now favor a statewide smoke-free law, and that support increases with each survey taken. This isn't a rights issue. People could still smoke. Just not in places where their smoke endangers the health of our workers and others.

Jack Conway: Meth lab count is up because we are identifying smaller labs

CONWAY: Rand Paul will do anything to keep from talking about the drug issue because he doesn't get the state.

PAUL: Meth labs are not part of the drug issue?

CONWAY: No, meth labs are part of the drug issue, Rand. What's happened is we've gotten better at identifying them. You have new so-called shake-and-bake labs that are much smaller. We're finding a lot more of them. That's where those statistics come from. But it's another example where Rand Paul doesn't get Kentucky. He doesn't get our farm economy. He doesn't get that drugs are a real pressing issue. I've had mothers crying on my shoulders because their daughters overdosed from oxycontin. I get that it's a real pressing issue. I've seen it firsthand.

PAUL: Actually, prescription drug abuse is up since you became attorney general.

CONWAY: Oxycontin is probably down a little bit, to be honest with you.

Rand Paul: Tackle drug problem; no one cares where funding comes from

PAUL: As a physician and a father, I've always been concerned about drug abuse. And that was actually a misquote; what I actually said was I don't think people are concerned about where the funding comes from. They want the problem tackled. There's always a debate between how much is federal and how much is state. All I said is that like mos problems, I think the more local control, the better. The more the decisions are made by sheriffs and local communities, the better chance we have of fixing the problem.

Q: What about Operate UNITE, a federal program which has spent $16 million over th last two years to fight drug abuse in the state of Kentucky? Would you shut that down?

PAUL: No, but what I would say is here's the problem. [Conway] wants to talk about drugs all the time. Under his watch the meth labs have doubled in the state.

Rand Paul: Community treatment instead of federal anti-drug programs

Paul was asked whether public sentiment might change his mind about supporting federal fundin for drug programs, such as Operation UNITE. That program, paid for with federal funds, coordinates law enforcement agencies for undercover drug busts and provides resources for treatment mostly in Eastern Kentucky. He said a candidate should stick to his positions.

Paul has said he favors handling the issue locally rather than sending tax dollars to Washington that come back in the form of Operation UNITE or other programs. Earlier this week, he held a press conference at the Wingshadow Lodge, a facility aimed at helping men recover from addition. The facility is part of the faith-based Teen Challenge program.

Jack Conway has been hammering Paul on the issue of drugs for the last two weeks as he seeks to paint Paul as out-of-touch.

Jack Conway: Epidemic of prescription pill abuse spurs crime

Paul accusing Conway of "pandering" for votes by mischaracterizing his concern for the state's drug woes: "It's been recently insinuated somehow that I don't care about the drug problem in Kentucky, and that's absolutely wrong."

Paul shows libertarian leanings on drugs. He has called drug sentences of 10 to 20 years too harsh. While he has said he opposes the legalization of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, he believes it should be up to individual states to decide the issue. Conway said Kentucky can't afford to take on drug traffickers without federal help.

Rand Paul: Drug abuse isn't a pressing issue; 10-20 years is too harsh

Paul said he prefers local initiatives over federally based responses to combat drug trafficking. Paul has said he would cut federal funding for undercover drug investigations and drug treatment programs in Appalachia, a hotbed for marijuana growers and drug dealers selling prescription pills and methamphetamines. He told The Associated Press recently that he doesn't think drug abuse is "a real pressing issue" in the Senate race, suggesting that voters are more concerned about fiscal and social concerns.

Paul has called drug sentences of 10 to 20 years too harsh. While he has said he opposes the legalization of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, he believes it should be up to individual states to decide the issue.