Lawmakers and treatment advocates applauded Fletcher's plan, which was recently presented to the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee.

Corrections Commissioner John Reese said treatment for nonviolent drug offenders would be cheaper and more effective than prison.

Treatment costs about $5,000 a year, much less than the annual cost of $17,200 per inmate.

"I believe that if we have to take money from somewhere else and put it in treatment, we'll have to do that," said Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who is also Fletcher's justice secretary.

Treatment officials said expanding the state's 14 regional community programs is long overdue. About 348,000 people in the state are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. However, only 22,000 people were able to receive treatment last year, according to Kentucky's Health and Family Services Cabinet.

"We're pretty busy trying to Band-Aid the system and deal with the lines of people at the door," said Karyn Hascal, acting director of the state Division of Substance Abuse.

Fletcher's plan also calls for expanding the state's drug courts. Currently, drug courts are operating in Jefferson and several other counties.

The governor also plans a comprehensive review of the state's drug problem and the resources available to address it.

Among the state's current drug problems are a growing presence of cocaine in urban areas, OxyContin and other prescription drugs in eastern Kentucky, and methamphetamine in western Kentucky.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:
Comment: (limit 200 words)
Enter this word (help):	Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.
   
   
2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).
   
   
3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.