FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Saying its time has come, state Sen. Morgan McGarvey on Wednesday called on the legislature to consider legalizing medical marijuana to relieve pain and suffering of terminally ill people. "It's 2017," McGarvey, a Louisville Democrat, told members of the joint House-Senate Health and Welfare Committee. "I think it's time we had a conversation about medical marijuana without snickering." Members of the committee took no action on legislation McGarvey is proposing for the 2018 legislative session but no one spoke against the proposal and some committee members spoke in favor of the measure that went nowhere in the past two legislative sessions. [continues 676 words]
Federal Agents Think Meth Was Smuggled From Mexico Ten members of the Iron Horsemen motorcycle club -- nine from Kentucky - -- face charges of conspiring to traffic in methamphetamine that federal agents believe was smuggled from Mexico. The 10 men, who were indicted Tuesday, may have distributed hundreds of pounds of the illegal stimulant valued at millions of dollars in the past two years, according to U.S. Attorney David Huber. Tony King, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Louisville, said yesterday that such cases may become more common as small meth labs disappear because of laws limiting access to meth ingredients. Large quantities of the illegal stimulant manufactured in Mexico and the Southwest are being brought into Kentucky, King said. "That's the big battle we're going to be fighting right now -- the return to smuggling," he said. "We are seeing a dramatic decrease in 'tweaker labs,' the mom and pop ones." [continues 276 words]
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The General Assembly passed a bill last night to regulate Internet drug sales and restrict purchases of a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. Senate Bill 63 -- which is aimed at curbing the spread of meth in Kentucky and requiring that people who buy drugs over the Internet have prescriptions for them -- passed the House 84-0. The Senate later voted 33-0 for the bill, sending it to Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who plans to sign it, press secretary Jeanne Lausche said. [continues 347 words]
House Change Targets State-Federal Joint Forces FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Tracking fugitives, busting meth labs, uncovering child pornography on the Internet, investigating corruption and white collar crime. These are among the tasks that federal agents and state police work on almost every day, Kentucky's top FBI agent and other federal officials told state lawmakers yesterday. But that could end under a bill the House passed yesterday. Senate Bill 45, which would reorganize the Justice Cabinet, also would block state police and other state justice employees from joining federal investigations, a provision that was added over the objections of state and federal authorities. [continues 609 words]
Measure Also Goes After Internet Drugs FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill aimed at curbing Kentucky's growing methamphetamine problem and regulating prescription drugs sold over the Internet moved closer to becoming law yesterday. Senate Bill 63 passed the House 97-0 and is expected to pass the Senate and receive Gov. Ernie Fletcher's signature. Originally two bills, the combination represents Kentucky's broadest drug-control bill in recent years, supporters said. "This may be, in my opinion, the most important bill we pass this session," said House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown. [continues 731 words]
Sales Of Certain Cold, Allergy Pills At Issue FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill aimed at curbing methamphetamine stalled in the House yesterday over two proposed amendments that backers say would gut the legislation. The delay prompted a rash of lobbying from sheriffs and police who say amendments to Senate Bill 63 would allow meth manufacturers to get more of the certain cold and allergy medications they need to make the illegal drug. Lt. Gov. Steve Pence said he is frustrated by the sudden appearance of the amendments. [continues 629 words]
House Committee Approves Measure FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill aimed at curbing methamphetamine's spread in Kentucky was combined yesterday with legislation to regulate sales of prescriptions on the Internet, and then was approved by a House committee. Despite opposition by the Kentucky Retail Federation to parts of the meth bill, backers of both measures said they supported joining them into a single bill and believe it stands a good chance of passing. "This will close two very big loopholes" in the fight against drugs, said Attorney General Greg Stumbo, who has pushed for regulation of Internet pharmacies. [continues 625 words]
Measure Limits Sale Of Key Ingredient FRANKFORT, Ky. - A bill aimed at curbing the spread of methamphetamine by making it harder to get a key ingredient and toughening prosecutions is on its way to the Senate floor. Despite objections from representatives of the Kentucky Retail Federation, the Senate Judiciary Committee last night unanimously passed Senate Bill 63, which would restrict the sale of cold and allergy medicine that can be used to make the illegal drug. The bill also would strengthen a law used to prosecute meth manufacturers, make it illegal to expose children to meth labs and hold meth makers liable for cleaning up the toxic chemical waste they leave behind. [continues 606 words]
Kentucky Measure Also Toughens Existing Law FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Hoping to curb the spread of methamphetamine in Kentucky, state officials said yesterday that they are filing legislation to restrict sales of cold and allergy medicine that can be used to make the illegal drug. The bill also seeks to strengthen a law used to prosecute meth manufacturers, create a law making it illegal to make meth in the presence of children, and hold meth makers liable for the cost of cleaning up labs. [continues 903 words]
Healing Place Will Serve As A Model Kentucky plans to spend about $9.5million to create 10 drug- and alcohol-abuse centers around the state, Gov. Ernie Fletcher announced yesterday. "We do have a substance-abuse problem," Fletcher said at The Healing Place in Louisville, which will serve as the model for a statewide system of recovery centers. "It is in every corner of the commonwealth." The state hopes to serve up to 1,000 people at a time who have a drug or alcohol problem and are seeking help but have no resources to pay for it. [continues 497 words]
Rehabilitation Resources Scarce, And Need Is Great ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. - After years of meth use, Bobby Hornback finally got help for his addiction - at the Hardin County Jail, where he was finishing eight years for making the drug. He was fortunate. Hornback entered one of just two state-funded programs for about 6,000 state inmates serving sentences in county jails. The six-month programs serve just 55 inmates at a time. "Now I can see myself living sober and doing something with my life instead of wasting away," said Hornback, 29, who graduated from the program Dec. 17 and was granted parole. [continues 565 words]
Treating Addiction Programs Save States Money BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - By her early 20s, Felecia Peacock was well-acquainted with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and pills, but meth was her drug of choice for r six years. "It's euphoric," she said. "You stay up for hours. There's no eating. There's no sleeping." Despite the drug's powerful grip, Peacock found what two recent local studies underscore: Kentucky's publicly funded system of drug and alcohol treatment is highly effective in helping people beat methamphetamine. [continues 1297 words]
Money Crunch Waits For Aid Long; Some Get No Help Meth is further straining Kentucky and Indiana's underfunded systems for treating drug addicts and alcoholics, according to state officials, treatment advocates and others. Kentucky addicts face months-long waits to get into public and private treatment centers, including Park Place, a residential center in Bowling Green with a 60-day wait for one of 28 beds. "It's ridiculous," said Martin Wesley, its executive director. Nearly 270,000 Kentuckians have a problem with alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medicine such as the painkiller OxyContin, a recent state survey found. [continues 1308 words]
Expanding drug courts in Kentucky and Indiana is one way officials hope to better control the spread of meth. In Kentucky, a pilot drug court project in Jefferson County that began in 1993 has expanded to 69 counties throughout the state and offers judges a chance to offer addicts rehabilitation instead of jail, its advocates said. "It's helped save my life," said James Jackson, 34, a methamphetamine addict from Clinton County who now is in his fourth month of a one-year term in drug court. [continues 697 words]
Toxic Hazards Cleanup Costs Sap State Resources Meth labs pose a significant environmental hazard because they use and generate such toxic chemicals as ammonia, hydrochloric acid, solvents and lye. Methamphetamine labs create five to six pounds of toxic waste for every pound of drugs produced, according to the University of Kentucky Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. Volatile substances used can cause fires and explosions, a particular problem because labs typically are makeshift, set up in apartments, hotel rooms, outbuildings or even in vans or cars. [continues 235 words]
Children, States And Environment Pay A Severe Price A meth epidemic is spreading across Kentucky and Indiana, wrecking thousands of lives and putting the children of addicts at special risk. Since abuse of the drug began to accelerate here in the late 1990s, meth users have been filling prisons and jails, creating pockets of toxic waste, overwhelming foster homes with relinquished children and burdening drug-treatment programs, The Courier-Journal has found. [continues 2302 words]
Training Will Help Spot Kids In Need "I just can't imagine what it must be like for some of these kids," UK President Lee Todd said yesterday. Foster mother Debbie Hughes said she has walked the floor with screaming infants too agitated to sleep after prolonged exposure to methamphetamine. She spent weeks at the hospital where a foster child she later adopted nearly died of pneumonia, his lungs damaged by the highly addictive stimulant. And some children she has cared for developed skin sores from exposure to the acids and other hazardous chemicals used to make the illegal drug. [continues 1080 words]
Aid For Homeless May Be Redirected Kentucky is planning a dramatic expansion of residential recovery programs for people with drug and alcohol problems by using federal tax incentives generally used to build housing for the poor. The plan is to build up to 12 centers around Kentucky to help as many as 1,000 people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless because of substance abuse. To finance the centers, the Kentucky Housing Corp. has set aside $2.5million a year in federal tax credits in 2005 and 2006 - part of the state's allocation of about $20million a year in credits used to spur construction of housing for the poor or homeless. [continues 891 words]
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo said yesterday he is reorganizing his staff to create the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation and plans to focus on slowing methamphetamine use. Following the announcement, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who is state justice secretary, accused Stumbo of having a political agenda. He also said the KBI may duplicate the work of agencies such as the Kentucky State Police. Kentucky Bureau of Investigation Attorney General Greg Stumbo said the new bureau: Will be headed by Commissioner David James, a former Louisville police officer who joined Stumbo's staff in January as chief investigator. [continues 662 words]
Measure Clears House Committee Despite Objection FRANKFORT, Ky. - A bill making it a crime to expose children to the manufacture of methamphetamine cleared a House committee yesterday despite objections that it contains a potential death sentence. "I do not like expansion of the death penalty," said Rep. Robin Webb, D-Grayson. Senate Bill 163, which already has passed the Senate, gained approval in the House Judiciary Committee 11-3. Webb did not vote on the measure. The Senate bill would make it a felony to manufacture methamphetamine around children or expose them to the toxic chemicals used to produce the illegal drug. It contains a possible death sentence if a child is killed, such as in a fire or explosion. [continues 320 words]
