Kasich's state of the state address focuses on opiates, job growth, help for needy

SANDUSKY

Gov. John Kasich has directed a state panel to pump up to $20 million into efforts to counter the state’s ongoing opiate epidemic.

The funds will go to research efforts related to managing pain without using prescription opiates, which are viewed as a gateway to heroin and other drugs.

The governor announced the Third Frontier Commission investment Tuesday night in Sandusky during his State of the State speech before about 1,500 in a historic downtown theater.

During an address that stretched more than an hour, the governor mostly stuck to central themes of his administration — “fiscal strength, lower taxes, proper regulation” help for people living in the shadows, and the growing importance of technology in business retention and education of the state's students.

Reaction from local Democratic lawmakers, however, was far from supportive.

Read more on the speech and their reaction in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.