Kentucky attorney general offers prevention plan to combat drug abuse scourge

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman unveiled plans Tuesday to create a statewide drug prevention program, saying the youth-focused initiative would fill a hole in the Bluegrass State's fight against an addiction epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives.

Coleman presented the plan's details to a state commission, which unanimously approved his request for a $3.6 million investment over two years to implement it.

“With over one million Kentuckians under the age of 18, we are going to put every single dollar to good use,” Coleman said. “Our parents and grandparents schooled us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I fully believe this initiative lives up to that age-old sentiment.”

Substance abuse is a deadly scourge in Kentucky though there are signs of progress in fighting back.