FRANKFORT, Ky. — Tapping into his state’s love of school basketball, Kentucky Lawyer Basic Russell Coleman has recruited two avid gamers from most sensible systems and given them roles as social media influencers to advertise his drug prevention initiative geared toward younger folks.
Social media movies launched Tuesday function College of Kentucky ahead Trent Noah and College of Louisville guard J’Vonne Hadley. The separate messages bridge their colleges’ storied competition by means of providing a not unusual theme — the significance of staying lively and disciplined as a part of the “Higher With out It” marketing campaign. Their movies coincide with the beginning of the NCAA basketball match.
“March all the time brings insanity to the commonwealth, and this 12 months it additionally brings a lifesaving message: our younger individuals are ‘Higher With out It,’” Coleman mentioned.
The Bluegrass State is the use of prevention and remedy efforts to battle again towards a drug dependancy epidemic. Kentucky’s drug overdose demise toll reached just about 2,000 in 2023, with fentanyl — a formidable artificial opioid — blamed as the most important offender. It marked a 2d directly annual decline in deaths, however the state’s most sensible leaders say the battle is a ways from over. Kentucky lawmakers final 12 months created harder consequences for fentanyl sellers when their illicit distribution ends up in a deadly overdose.
Coleman introduced the drug prevention marketing campaign final month with pitches from faculty coaches. The messages from Noah and Hadley are a key a part of Coleman’s playbook. In a state the place most sensible faculty athletes change into family names, he is enlisting a few of them to ship certain, anti-drug messages.
“To succeed in Kentucky’s younger folks with an efficient statewide drug prevention message, we want the proper messengers,” Coleman mentioned in February. “That’s why we’re partnering with one of the vital greatest names in Kentucky’s faculty athletics to inform … younger folks they’re really higher with out it.”
In his video, Noah says staying lively “is helping me to be my perfect self by means of holding me disciplined.” At day’s finish, when checking off all of the issues he is finished that day, “it creates the most productive me,” he says.
In a prior video, College of Kentucky girls’s basketball participant Cassidy Rowe urges audience to search out interests that give them pleasure and that they may be able to paintings towards. She mentioned basketball taught her resilience, duty and self-discipline — characteristics she applies to her on a regular basis lifestyles.
“Should you’re feeling harassed, I’d simply inspire you to stick true to your self and no longer let others affect you to change into one thing that you just’re no longer,” she mentioned within the video launched final month.
The drug prevention marketing campaign encourages younger folks to be impartial, make their very own choices and keep knowledgeable concerning the risks of drug use, whilst highlighting the certain results of a drug-free way of life, Coleman’s place of business mentioned.
Final 12 months, the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Fee licensed Coleman’s two-year, $3.6 million proposal to determine the early life training marketing campaign. Via identify, symbol and likeness offers and different partnerships, student-athletes, influencers and others will advertise certain messages a few drug-free way of life, the place of business mentioned.
