GEORGETOWN, Ky. (FOX 56) – The Georgetown Police Department is using a Kentucky law to help families deal with substance abuse.

“Today alone, it was kind of a busier day for Casey Law, I have had four inquires in one day,’ Corey Councill, court recovery coordinator, said.

Inspired by Matthew Casey, who died in 2002 from a heroin overdose at just 23 years old.
The law provides a means of intervening with someone who is unable to recognize their need for drug treatment.

“We are going to go over the disease of addiction. We’ll go through the process of filing cases law, and then we’ll end with a Narcan distribution at the end of the event,” Councill said.

On Thursday, Councill and Casey’s mom will host a training event for those who have loved ones or friends who are struggling with a substance use disorder.

“It’s not an immediate thing to do. It takes about two-week process because the judge has to order evaluations from medical providers, and then we’ll order treatment,” Councill said.

The opioid epidemic continues to afflict people and families. What began as widespread overprescription and misuse of pain-relieving medications, leaders said, has led to a public health emergency due to the increasing rates of addiction.

“Coming to an event like this just to get informed about it and to kind of get past the stigma, because a lot of people are at the end of their rope; they’ve been dealing with this problem in their family for years,” Councill said.

According to the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, more than 2,000 Kentuckians died from a drug overdose in 2022.

“The death rate stays about the same, but we’re just trying to decrease that death rate as much as we can. You know, if we can keep somebody alive one more day, that’s one more day. They could get into treatment,” Councill said.

July 4th is your last chance to sign up for Casey’s law training. To sign up, you can email: corey.councill@georgetownpolice.org.