Prescription Drug Summit draws Kentucky Leaders

Top Kentucky health leaders and lawmakers trying to end multistate prescription drug trafficking and abuse are meeting in Florida this week.  The National R-X Drug Abuse Summit runs from tomorrow until Thursday in Orlando.  The event is organized by the eastern Kentucky anti-drug group Operation UNITE.  It will feature remarks by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin and U.S. “Drug Czar” R. Gil Kerlikowske.  Operation UNITE president Karen Kelly says the Commonwealth is not an island when it comes to prescription drug abuse, which kills more Kentuckians than car wrecks.  Governor Beshear says the summit will build a critical mass of urgency including law enforcement, government, and the medical community.