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Jack Conway on Drugs
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Fight prescription drug abuse; set up treatment centers
As Attorney General, Jack Conway has championed the fight against prescription drug abuse in Kentucky:- 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.
Source: 2015 Kentucky Governor campaign website, ConwayOverly.com
, Aug 11, 2015
Meth lab count is up because we are identifying smaller labs
PAUL: [Conway] wants to talk about drugs all the time. Under his watch the meth labs have doubled in the state. 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.
Source: Fox News Sunday, 2010 Kentucky Senate debate
, Oct 3, 2010
Epidemic of prescription pill abuse spurs crime
Spurred by Paul's suggestion that drug abuse isn't "a real pressing issue" in the Senate race, Conway spotlighted Kentucky's "epidemic" of prescription pill abuse that is costing lives and overloading the courts and prisons with addicts who turn to crime
to fund their habits. Conway visited Kentucky's mountain region where he said Paul "just doesn't get it" concerning painkillers like OxyContin and the impact they have had on Kentucky.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.
Source: Associated Press coverage of 2010 Kentucky Senate debate
, Aug 23, 2010
Page last updated: Apr 16, 2020
