Strengthen Kentucky Communities Through Evidence-Based Treatment!

Kentucky is facing an overdose crisis that continues to claim far too many lives. While overdose deaths declined by more than 30% in 2024, 1,410 Kentuckians still died from overdose last year.

We know what works, but those in power would rather allow our most vulnerable to continue to struggle while they play politics. Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved, evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) that cuts overdose risk roughly in half. When people have access to treatment, communities are safer, emergency systems are less strained, and lives are saved.

That’s why we’re urging lawmakers to pass HB153 / SB82.

This legislation would allow qualified Kentucky clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine without unnecessary regulatory barriers, expanding access to life-saving care statewide.

Such is essential to sustaining and accelerating progress. Treatment-first approaches like this are associated with fewer arrests, fewer emergency responses, and lower rates of drug-related crime. This is a win-win for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and for the public safety of Kentuckians. We all deserve access to proven care that works.

Sign this petition to urge lawmakers to pass HB153 / SB82 and put evidence over stigma once and for all.

Put Evidence Over Stigma!

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Dear Distinguished Member of the Kentucky Legislature,

We are writing to urge you to support and pass HB153 / SB82, legislation that would expand access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder by allowing qualified Kentucky clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine without unnecessary regulatory barriers.

Kentucky has made progress but the crisis is far from over. 1,410 Kentuckians still lost their lives to overdose last year. These are preventable deaths and we know what works to stop them.

Buprenorphine is an FDA-approved, proven treatment that cuts overdose risk roughly in half. Research shows that when people have access to treatment, communities are safer, emergency systems are less strained, and public dollars are used more effectively. Evidence from the NIH-funded HEALing Communities Study demonstrates that expanding access to treatment leads to increased engagement in care and fewer opioid-related emergencies.

HB153 / SB82 is a smart, pragmatic solution:

It saves lives by expanding access to life-saving care
It improves public safety by reducing illicit opioid use, emergency calls, and drug-related crime
It saves taxpayer resources by reducing reliance on repeated emergency care and incarceration
It aligns with federal guidance and bipartisan national efforts to remove barriers to evidence-based addiction treatment

Kentuckians deserve policies rooted in evidence, not stigma. Passing HB153 / SB82 would build on recent progress and help ensure fewer families experience the devastating loss of a loved one.

We urge you to support HB153 / SB82 and stand for treatment, public safety, and community well-being.

Thank you for your time.