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Washington, DC– Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) today commented on the designation of Hardin County as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced the news earlier this morning.

“I am pleased to learn that Hardin County will receive the federal support it needs to help counteract drug trafficking in the region,” said Congressman Guthrie. “This is a serious matter and I am hopeful that with federal and local support, the region will see a change for the better. This designation is the first step in that process.”

According to the ONDCP, a threat analysis concluded that Hardin County is an area “experiencing an increasing illegal drug problem that includes prescription drug abuse, methamphetamine production and marijuana cultivation.”

In a letter to Director Kerlikowske dated May 8, 2012, Congressman Guthrie wrote, “The additional resources that a designation as an HIDTA area would bring can make a difference and help turn the tide of the illegal drugs that are hurting so many families in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

Hardin County will join 27 other counties in the state to receive federal support as part of the Appalachia HIDTA. Three of those 27 counties are currently in Kentucky’s Second Congressional District; Marion, Taylor and Warren counties.

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