WASHINGTON (April 6, 2010)—Today, at a press conference in Winchester with the mayors of Winchester, Clay City, and Stanton, Congressman Ben Chandler announced $30,000 in federal funding to combat drugs in Clark and Powell Counties.  The Winchester Police Department and the Stanton Police Department will work together on a joint program to reduce the production, distribution, and use of drugs in both counties.

“Drugs are a real problem in the Commonwealth,” Chandler said, “and this problem is stretching our local police departments thin. This federal funding will help get our law enforcement officers more of the tools and resources they need to combat this growing problem.”

Through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program run by the Department of Justice, the police forces of Stanton and Winchester will work together to improve drug intervention, treatment, prevention, and enforcement. With the establishment of the COPS program in Clark and Powell Counties, law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels will now have additional tools to coordinate efforts to combat drugs in Central Kentucky.

Congressman Chandler has a strong history of fighting drug abuse in Kentucky. As attorney general, Congressman Chandler implemented the Kentucky All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (KASPER) program to assist states in fighting prescription drug abuse. The national version of KASPER, the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting (NASPER) program, was modeled after Kentucky’s successful initiative.

 “I have seen firsthand the damage this kind of battle with drugs can do to a family and a community, and we have to do all we possibly can to fight it,” Chandler said. “I am proud to say that this battle is getting a little help today.”
 

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