Kentucky ranks first among fentanyl use in one study

BOWLING GREEN, Ky -Millennium Healthcare recently announced that Kentucky ranked first in the number of urine drug samples that tested positive for fentanyl and in the top five for samples testing positive for cocaine and heroin.

It’s no secret Kentucky has been a battleground for chemical dependency.

Billy Turner, a case manager at Journeypure, a recovery facility in Bowling Green, says the reason for much of the use of drugs like fentanyl isn’t for medical reasons, rather the drugs are being obtained off the street.

Treatment can be expensive, and the drug problem affects law enforcement, too.

Ronnie Ward, with the Bowling Green Police Department, said his officers have changed the way they do their job by wearing gloves before touching a suspect’s personal belongings and not opening containers which they suspect could contain drugs, all to prevent an accidental exposure. But just in case, Ward says the officers carry Narcan, a drug that counteracts the affects of opiates.

Kentucky’s Office of Drug Control Policy has set up a website to help those who are addicted take the first step to recovery: findhelpnowky.org.