Executive Director

Van Ingram is the Executive Director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.  Van joined ODCP in November 2004, shortly after it was created with the mission of coordinating Kentucky’s substance abuse efforts in enforcement, treatment and prevention/education.

Van served with the Maysville Kentucky Police Department for more than 23 years, the last six as Chief of Police.  He is a former President of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, and was named “Kentucky Chief of the Year” in 2001.  He is a former recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement, as well as the Melvin Shein Award for distinguished service to Kentucky law enforcement.

Van is a certified law enforcement instructor and has trained officers across the state on a variety of topics, including community oriented policing, interview and interrogation, and time management. He is a frequent speaker on a variety of substance abuse issues and has recently presented to numerous groups and national organizations on the topic of electronically monitoring PSE sales.

In 2005 Kentucky and dozens of other states passed laws restricting the sale of products containing pseudoephedrine (PSE), the key ingredient for meth production. These laws closely followed similar legislation enacted in Oklahoma in 2004. States that restricted PSE began seeing immediate declines in meth-lab responses. Those declines, however, were short lived, as meth users and cooks began an activity known as ‘smurfing,’ a process of purchasing small amounts of PSE at multiple locations.

In an effort to reduce this practice, Oklahoma, followed by Kentucky and Arkansas, implemented real-time electronic tracking systems that linked all pharmacies into one statewide database. These systems have the ability to alert the pharmacist at the point of sale when an individual is attempting to exceed legal product limits.

Kentucky’s system is called MethCheck and is available to all pharmacies and law enforcement with internet access through a secure website. 

Kentucky law enforcement agencies requesting a MethCheck account can do so by contacting Berry Hammermeister at 818-414-6327 or by e-mailing berry.hammermeister@ky.gov

In early March 2008, the Office of Drug Control Policy, in collaboration with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, began a statewide public service announcement (PSA) campaign to air professionally produced localized media messages in a sustained effort to reduce the incidence of substance abuse in the Commonwealth.  That collaboration brings more than $6 million in professionally produced PSAs to Kentucky.

Parents and children are inundated with media messages about drug use and abuse among celebrities and major sports figures.  The benefits from the Partnership allow Kentucky to counter those negative messages with positive prevention strategies.  This is another initiative KY-ASAP & the ODCP are doing to support the reduction of youth substance use.

The Office of Drug Control Policy urges all media outlets across Kentucky to participate in the Partnership for a Drug-Free Kentucky Campaign, by running the messages to “un-sell” drugs to Kentucky’s youth.  Research has shown if a child hears or sees one anti-drug message a day, they are 38% less likely to use drugs.   When a parent is talking to a child about drugs on a regular basis, the child is 52% less likely to use drugs.

We feel very encouraged and inspired with our ability to make a difference.  To date, the ODCP/Partnership for a Drug-Free Kentucky PSAs have aired thousands of times since March 2008.

When finding the words isn't easy at least finding help is. Get the tools YOU need to talk to your kids about the risks of drugs and alcohol.

For more information, go to http://www.drugfree.org

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), announced that the 2010 DFC Request for Applications(RFA) is now available.

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