The National Association of Counties (NACo) selected new leaders to the Opioid Solutions Leadership Network. One of the individuals selected was Boone County Judge/Executive Gary Moore.
Judge Moore will join the cohort of county officials and leaders who pursue effective implementation of opioid settlement funds.
Along with Moore, Harlan County Judge/Executive Dan Mosley, Madison County Judge/Executive Reagan Taylor and Lauren Carr, Executive Director of the Graves County Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention were also selected.
NACo is partnering with global health organization, Vital Strategies, to equip county decision-makers with tools and evidence-based solutions to address substance use disorder in their communities.
“The many negative issues that the over prescribing of opioids and other legal and illegal pain medications have wreaked havoc on our citizens,” Judge Moore said. “My work on this issue began in 2016 as I was the national co-chair of the opioid task force created by the NACo and the National League of Cities. Many successes have occurred since then and I believe our best work is ahead of us.”
In 2021, more than 100,000 people died of a drug overdose in the United States, the highest annual overdose death rate to date. According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, Kentuckians accounted for 2,250 of those deaths.