Commonwealth v. Hamilton

Opinion of The Court By

Chief Justice MINTON.

Frank D. Hamilton and Heather Cole entered conditional guilty pleas to second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, first offense. In particular, Hamilton and Cole were convicted for dealing in Suboxone, the trade name of a specific drug containing buprenorphine. Under Kentucky law, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services designated buprenorphine as a Schedule III controlled substance. The focus of this case is on Hamilton and Cole’s efforts to challenge the Cabinet’s reclassification of buprenorphine in 2002 from a Schedule V to Schedule…