By WCPO’s Marlena Lang
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is spearheading an effort to stop fentanyl from getting into the U.S.
A letter from Coleman’s office addressed to the Trump administration, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hopes to stop fentanyl from getting into the country. The letter is signed by 25 attorneys general, including Ohio and Indiana.
“This is a very, very powerful painkiller,” Coleman said. “That’s what is driving our overdose deaths.”
The fear is that without proper inspections, drug dealers and traffickers can get fentanyl into the U.S. easily.
Coleman said he and his fellow attorneys general just want to see these packages inspected better to avoid more Americans dying.
“We’re prosecuting cases where as little as one pill can and is killing Kentuckians,” Coleman said.
In 2023, Ohio saw over 3,500 fentanyl-related opioid deaths, and Kentucky saw over 1,500. Both make up the majority of all opioid deaths in the state.
Coleman said prevention is one of the main ways of fighting the fentanyl crisis. Which is why, on top of the letter, Kentucky has launched another program called Better Without It.
“This program is funded by opioid settlement money,” Coleman said.
The program uses social media to partner with university athletes and social media influencers across the state to tell kids that they are “better without” drugs or fentanyl.
Coleman said the point of the letter and the program is to save lives.