FRANKFORT, Ky -- Lawmakers and Attorney General Andy Beshear call for creation of a permanent substance abuse trust fund to battle addiction and support prevention. HB 219 would create the Kentucky Addiction, Prevention, Enforcement and Recovery Fund with an oversight board to administer dollars in an efficient manner.
Beshear says during a time of a tight state budget the trust fund's dedicated revenue source would be settlement dollars won by the Attorney General's Office against drug companies, manufacturers or distributors. Beshear currently has lawsuits pending against McKesson Corporation and Endo Pharmaceuticals and their alleged roles in the opioid epidemic.
He calls battling the opioid epidemic a bipartisan issue. The bill has 30 co-sponsors in the House.