Officials Discuss Drug Abuse in Kentucky

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway says a recent report puts the commonwealth as the fourth most medicated state in the country.  Conway appeared with three other guests on KET’s Kentucky Tonight.  The discussion centered on what’s been called a pain pill epidemic across the state.

“We are losing more people to prescription pill overdoses than car accidents and you know what, we think that’s under reported because only about half of overdoses make it to the coroner, state medical examiner’s office where we get these statistics."

Dr. Sean Jones, President of the Kentucky Medical Association, says the K-M-A supports efforts to address pain pill abuse.  He says it must be balanced against legitimate pain control needs and patient privacy rights.