2025 marked the lowest number of overdose deaths recorded since 2014
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 27, 2026) – Gov. Andy Beshear said Team Kentucky is working together to save lives and strengthen communities as the commonwealth celebrates four straight years of declines in overdose deaths. Encouraged by the lifesaving progress, the Governor is highlighting important programs that led to the success, including addiction services through Medicaid and the Opioid Response Effort, Narcan distribution, grant funding to addiction treatment organizations, Recovery Ready Communities, reentry services, and efforts by the Kentucky State Police (KSP) and law enforcement to remove dangerous drugs from Kentucky communities.
“My administration is fighting for the inches that become the miles of progress to save more lives and protect more families from the heartbreak and pain that comes with addiction,” said Gov. Beshear. “Kentucky has been one of the states hit hardest by opioids, yet we are showing the nation what’s possible by working together. From Medicaid to supporting our recovery partners, law enforcement and more, every piece of this fight is critical to continue the progress we’re making together.”
Kentucky’s Success in Fighting Addiction
Gov. Beshear attributed the state’s progress to the following efforts:
- More than $29 million was distributed in grant and pass-through funding from the Office of Drug Control Policy;
- 182,810 doses of Narcan were distributed;
- 82 syringe exchange program sites served 25,543 unique participants;
- More than 137,000 Kentuckians received addiction services through Medicaid;
- More than 19,100 Kentuckians received addiction treatment paid for by the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort;
- More than 29,900 Kentuckians received recovery services (housing assistance, employment services, transportation, basic need services, etc.) in their community paid for by the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort;
- 23 Kentuckians sought treatment through the Kentucky State Police Angel Initiative;
- 3,005 incoming calls were made to the KY HELP Call Center with 19,138 outgoing follow-up calls;
- More than 52,800 school-age students participated in substance use prevention curriculum supported by the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort;
- In November of last year, the Governor took action to classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a Schedule I narcotic, making it illegal to sell, possess or distribute any isolated or concentrated forms of the form of kratom in the state. This followed Gov. Beshear’s similar move to schedule bromazolam, or “designer Xanax,” as a Schedule I narcotic. These actions give Kentucky law enforcement the ability to make arrests for sales or possession; and
- In September 2025, Gov. Beshear awarded more than $1.4 million in federal grant funding to nine state and local agencies to fight drug trafficking through the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant.
Recovery Ready Communities
After more applications were approved in March, 39 counties are now certified as Recovery Ready Communities, representing more than 2.1 million Kentuckians. The certification program offers local officials, recovery advocates and concerned citizens the opportunity to evaluate their community’s current addiction treatment programs and interventions in a framework designed to maximize positive public health outcomes. Learn more at rrcky.org.
The Governor said Team Kentucky’s investments in public health and public safety are making an impact. Last summer, the commonwealth released the 2024 Crime in Kentucky Report, which showed serious crime rates decreased by nearly 8%, including an 11.55% decrease in drug/narcotic offenses, a 12.7% decrease in homicide offenses and a 13.78% decrease in sex offenses.
Second Chance Opportunities
The Governor is also improving second chance opportunities and reducing recidivism rates, which have decreased for two years in a row.
In April, Gov. Beshear recognized Second Chance Month in the commonwealth by ceremonially signing House Bill 5, which provides the framework to create Kentucky’s first reentry campus, focused on increasing public safety and boosting the state’s workforce.
The reentry campus will be operated by the Kentucky Community and Technical College System on the grounds of Northpoint Training Center in Burgin. Once constructed, it will provide up to 400 inmates each year with targeted vocational technical education programs and intensive reentry services.
Since the Governor took office, Team Kentucky has taken several steps to prepare inmates for success upon release and enhance public safety by:
- Launching different technical education courses in prisons across the commonwealth for a current total of 35, including a pre-apprenticeship welding program in partnership with Ironworkers Local Union #70, for inmates to prepare for employment upon release. So far, 1,779 inmates have completed at least one course.
- Providing eligible inmates leaving state custody with continued access to physical and mental healthcare and addiction services for up to a year after release.
- Partnering with Simmons College of Kentucky, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and Kentucky State University.
- Restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 Kentuckians who have completed their sentences for nonviolent, nonsexual offenses.
- Establishing reentry centers inside each of Kentucky’s 14 state prisons to deliver focused life-skills training.
- Creating the Team Kentucky Office of Reentry Services to continue the important work of supporting second chances and to help maximize, concentrate and better coordinate services and resources across state government.
- Establishing the Governor’s Council of Second Chance Employers, comprising 15 business and community leaders, including Amazon, UPS, DV8 Kitchen and KCTCS. The council meets quarterly to promote second chance hiring, improve outcomes for individuals released from incarceration and reduce recidivism rates in the state.
- Maintaining the website secondchance.ky.gov, which connects Kentuckians overcoming addiction or leaving prison to resources that can help them find a job, get an education and support their continued recovery.
- Joining members of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council to launch the Jobs on Day One initiative, which helps inmates prepare for Kentucky’s fast-paced labor market through targeted pre-apprenticeship training.
- Removing barriers to housing and employment for inmates upon release by issuing state identification and offering transportation at no cost to medical appointments, job interviews, educational courses and probation and parole meetings.
Removing Drugs From Communities
Gov. Beshear recognizes the important role law enforcement plays in making our communities safer, highlighting the work accomplished by KSP in 2025 to remove dangerous drugs from our streets and hold those who sell accountable. In 2025, state police made 5,141 drug-related arrests and seized more than $18.9 million worth of drugs, including $277,000 worth of fentanyl, over $2.1 million worth of cocaine, and nearly $4.4 million worth of methamphetamine.
Last year, KSP also helped 15 Kentuckians through the Angel Initiative, a program that offers those struggling with addiction a way to connect to recovery resources with no questions asked. This program is available at all 16 KSP posts located throughout the commonwealth.
Gov. Beshear Invests in Rural Healthcare
Gov. Beshear believes healthcare is a human right, including treatment for addiction, and he has taken action to protect and support rural hospitals. Last week, the Governor announced that his administration has secured more than $105 million in FEMA disaster funds to reimburse six Kentucky hospitals and Kentucky Emergency Management for expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals receiving funding include AdventHealth Manchester, Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Baptist Health, Pikeville Medical Center, T.J. Samson Community Hospital and UofL Health.
In April, Gov. Beshear announced that Kentucky is one of five states included in UnitedHealthcare’s expansion of its Rural Payment Acceleration Pilot, a program focused on lowering healthcare costs and increasing access in rural communities. The program helps local hospitals get paid faster, cut down on paperwork and increase care for families.
To view the 2025 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, click here.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, call the KY HELP Call Center at 833-8KY-HELP or visit FindHelpNowKy.org to find recovery resources near you.
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