NASHVILLE, Tn. (April 22, 2025) - Attorney General Russell Coleman delivered the following remarks at the 2025 Rx and Illicit Drug Summit.
***As Prepared for Delivery***
Thank you.
What an honor to be introduced by Kentucky’s own Hal Rogers. Congressman Rogers, would you please come back and join me at the podium?
For more than 40 years, Congressman Rogers has taken the fight for his beloved Mountains to Washington. His record of delivering economic investment, job creation, and recovery will be an example for public servants for generations to come.
Through Operation UNITE and other organizations focused on the health, safety and prosperity, Congressman Rogers, with the excellent support of his chief of staff Karen Kelly, has changed the trajectory of Kentucky.
As one of those Kentuckians who has the privilege to see his work and his incredible impact, I want to say thank you.
Please accept this challenge coin with gratitude for your achievement in our shared mission.
It’s a distinct privilege to follow the Congressional Panel, including three of Kentucky’s heavy hitters in Washington. Our Commonwealth is blessed to ‘punch above our weight’ in the Capitol, and it’s thanks to the leaders who were just on this stage.
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You may be wondering what a badge-carrying state Attorney General has to say to professionals from across the country who stare into the darkness of addiction every single day.
I asked the people of Kentucky to hire me for this job because I was a prosecutor and before that an FBI Special Agent focused on violent crime and national security threats.
Everyone in this room knows that the tragic reality is that the danger Kentuckians face doesn’t only come from violent gangs or foreign terror cells.
Of course, as you well know, some of our most pressing threats come in the form of a single pill that you can hold in our hand.
For too long, the state I have sworn an oath to serve has been at the bottom of too many of the lists you want to be at the top of, and at the top of too many lists you want to be at the bottom of.
That’s what these public servants, Chairman Comer, Congressman Guthrie, and Congressman Rogers have spent their careers working to address.
Congressman Rogers has frequently said: We became the ‘ground zero’ for the worst man-made crisis of our lifetimes. The drug epidemic. 1,984 Kentuckians were killed in 2023.
It literally changed everything.
Our workforce. Our healthcare. The empty seats in our church pews and at our kitchen tables.
The specter of addiction has touched every single one of us.
Let’s be honest, this just feels like a dark time. It’s every article you read or every statistic you track.
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I see our fight against addiction as a three-legged stool.
I’m proud to report that Kentucky has built two strong legs. And a lot of the professionals in this room are directly responsible.
First, we’ve made tremendous progress in treatment. I remember not too long ago when finding a treatment bed meant driving hours away or sitting on endless waiting lists.
That’s all changed. Kentucky is now home to the most treatment beds per capita of any state in the nation. We celebrate that fact. But we can’t stop there.
Second, our law enforcement is working more collaboratively to keep this poison off our streets.
From Appalachia HIDTA to Tom Vicini and his colleagues at Operation UNITE to your local police department, it’s impossible to overstate the incredible progress we’ve made.
But more on tearing down silos in law enforcement in a moment. Where we have fallen short on the third leg: prevention. Kentucky has never had an effective, statewide prevention effort.
Some regions or counties have done yeomen’s work. But we’ve never mobilized the resources and expertise to reach every corner of Kentucky at scale.
We needed a new and serious conversation focused on young Kentuckians about the threat they face.
We’re changing that.
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We launched a campaign called “Better Without It.”
It’s a groundbreaking prevention effort focused on reaching Kentucky’s kids… right where they are.
It’s research-backed and positivity-driven. Funded by our Opioid Abatement Commission, funded by the blood money of opioid settlement funds, Better Without It is an effort to show the young people of Kentucky that they can live healthy and fulfilling lives without the influence of drugs.
The campaign talks about setting goals, staying focused and building relationships. It uses creativity and cool… and even something called “Gen Z yellow.”
To make “Better Without It” successful, we knew we needed the right messengers.
In a state like Kentucky – where college basketball is practically a religion – who is a more powerful influencer than our student athletes?
Who would a 13-year-old Kentucky kid look up to more than the University of Kentucky’s Trent Noah or the University of Louisville’s J’Vonne Hadley?
That’s why we’ve signed NIL deals with some of Kentucky’s biggest names to tell Kentucky’s youth that they are truly better without it.
This message is going out to where young people are … on social media, podcasts, and around college campuses. We’re able to speak directly to kids ages 13-26 in a way that the data says will actually break through the noise.
These aren’t bland ads that could be found anywhere. They are made to look, sound and feel like Kentucky. And I truly believe they will resonate.
To all the parents and folks who might look or dress like me: We may never see one of these ads. Good.
We’re using the algorithm to do exactly what it was meant to do – focus this message directly to those who need to hear it.
I’ll be frank – this wasn’t my default position.
Like I said, I came to this job as a prosecutor… I was an FBI Agent.
I come from an era of “Just Say No.” I was ready to pound the podium to tell kids not to experiment with drugs. You have heard it said repeatedly from this stage but that makes it no less true. One pill can and is killing…
But my own kids barely pull their eyes away from screens to listen to me. So, I’m not sure anyone else’s kids would. And the data shows that this positive campaign will be more impactful.
When the stakes are this high… we’ll do whatever it takes.
We launched Better Without It on Kentucky’s biggest stage – at Rupp Arena during the University of Kentucky vs. University of Louisville basketball game.
Since then, we’ve rolled out new content and new partnerships. I stood in Frankfort with UK and UofL coaches to speak to aspiring players.
Their message boils down to: If you want to wear ‘this jersey’ you’re Better Without It.
I truly believe this prevention initiative is very likely the most impactful thing I do as Attorney General.
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The idea behind Better Without It was discovered right here at the Rx Summit.
One conversation led to a multimillion-dollar campaign, which will – God willing – lead to the lives of young Kentuckians being saved from addiction.
That means—and I’ll apologize to all the other speakers for saying this—the most important part of this Summit won’t be speeches you hear from the podium.
It will be the conversations you have and the relationships you build with those on your left and your right.
It will be new ideas borne across industries, across backgrounds, and across states.
That’s the key to tackling this crisis.
The passion, the dedication, and the “give-a-damn” in this room just can’t be measured. And I’m so grateful to every one of you who sacrificed your time to be here. We need you in this fight.
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I’ll leave you with this.
Zealous Collaboration. It’s the culture we’re building in the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office. It’s why I mentioned earlier about tackling silos in law enforcement. It is why Operation UNITE has been so impactful.
It’s a commitment to tearing down those silos. It means answering phone calls when it’s inconvenient. Going an extra mile… or two … or three to support a colleague. Federal/state/local rowing in the same direction as Congressman Gonzales just discussed.
It’s the only way to we can take on the drug crisis with the efficacy the threat warrants.
That’s why – on this Tuesday after Easter – I remain steadfast in my hope that we will beat this scourge and save lives.
Our kids are Better Without It. We are Better Without It.
Thank you. It’s humbling to be here.