FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman asked for additional funding to expand the state's "Better Without It" drug prevention campaign, which has already garnered over 7 million views since its launch in 2023.
The Opioid Abatement Commission voted yes on the funding request, which will allow the program to recruit more popular figures (that young people admire), and to build coalitions where youth can share their stories in person.
The initiative originally featured videos with prominent figures, such as the University of Kentucky men's basketball coach Mark Pope, strategically placed on platforms where young people spend their time – smartphones, streaming services and social media.
"They're hearing from Coach Pope who is looking at their screens and saying, 'Hey, you want to wear this jersey? You want to play on this court? You're better off without it,'" Coleman said.
"We're starting with athletes, but this next phase is broadening. You're going to see kids in FAA jackets talking to rural kids, like me. You're going to see from bull riders to race car drivers, young voices looking at those screens saying 'You're better without it,'" Coleman said.
Coleman said the program addresses a gap in Kentucky's approach to the drug crisis, which has traditionally focused heavily on enforcement and prosecution of drug traffickers.
"We're all about enforcement, but in this environment, we are failing in the prevention space," Coleman said. "In this environment, where one pill is killing our kids, we have to offer an off ramp. We have to do things differently and what this Better Without It effort is about - it's leveraging [phones]. It's leveraging these screens. It's using technology for good."
The funding comes from settlements Kentucky received from opioid companies that played a significant role in the state's drug crisis, not from taxpayer money.
"These are dollars that we have clawed back from the opioid companies that drove this crisis," Coleman said. "We're taking these dollars and using them for good."
