Office of the Attorney General
Attorney General Conway & Partners Announce Winners of Statewide Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse PSA Contest

Attorney General Jack Conway and his partners today announced the winners of a preventing prescription drug abuse in Kentucky public service announcement (PSA) competition for Kentucky high school and middle school students. The competition was held in conjunction with the launch last fall of a statewide initiative to better educate Kentucky kids and their parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs.

"We are very pleased with the response we have received from Kentucky students, their parents and educators to our prescription drug abuse education and prevention program," said General Conway. "I appreciate the students who submitted video PSAs as part of our competition and who share our concern for a problem that is devastating families in every corner of the Commonwealth."

The first place winner in the high school division is John Andrew Stone of Bardstown High School. Stone will receive an Apple iPad generously donated by the Kentucky Pharmacists Association. The second place winner, Heather Workman of Sheldon Clark High School in Inez, will receive a Lexmark printer donated by Lexmark and ConnectKentucky. In the middle school division, the winning PSA was created by Abby Willgruber of West Middle School in Shelbyville. Willgruber will receive an Apple iPod Touch donated by the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI)-Kentucky chapter.

Honorable mentions were also given to students from Scott County and West Jessamine high schools. The winning PSAs and honorable mentions will be listed on the Attorney General's website at ag.ky.gov.

In September 2010, Attorney General Conway joined with the Kentucky Justice Cabinet and its Office of Drug Control Policy, Kentucky Pharmacists Association, NADDI, Operation Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education (UNITE) and concerned parents Dr. Karen Shay and Lynn Kissick to launch a statewide prescription drug abuse education and prevention initiative. The group is conducting presentations in middle and high schools across Kentucky.

As part of the initiative, General Conway and his partners have also distributed informational posters to pharmacies and other locations across Kentucky to alert the public to the importance of monitoring and securing prescription drugs in the home and disposing of unneeded medications.

In 2009, General Conway utilized grant money from NADDI to launch Kentucky's first and only statewide prescription drug abuse task force to combat illegal prescription drug trafficking, overprescribing physicians, doctor shopping and illegal out-of-state pharmacies. His task force has since participated in the largest drug round-up in Kentucky's history. Additionally, General Conway's Drug Investigations Branch has opened more than 100 cases and seized more than 4,400 prescription pills since January of 2008.

For more information on the prescription drug abuse education initiative or to see the winning PSAs, please visit http://ag.ky.gov/rxabuse