Kentucky attorney general names members to opioid advisory commission

The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, tasked with distributing opioid settlement dollars, has new members, Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office announced Tuesday.  

The commission was created by the state legislature in 2021 and has nine voting and two non-voting members. 

Kentucky receives installments toward $900 million in settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. So far, it has awarded 110 grants worth more than $55 million toward treatment, prevention and recovery efforts.  

The commission’s new and re-appointed members are: 

• State Rep. Chris Fugate, R-Chavies, who will serve as a non-voting member. He was appointed by Speaker of the House David Osborne. 
• Karen Kelly, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, who will serve as a non-voting member. She was appointed by Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester.  
• Jason Roop, an assistant professor of business and theology at Campbellsville University. Roop was appointed by the attorney general. He will “represent victims of the opioid crisis,” the AG’s office said, and serve until 2026. 
• Van Ingram, the executive director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, was first appointed to the commission in 2022. He will now serve until 2026.
• Patricia Freeman, a professor in the University of Kentucky’s College of Pharmacy, who was appointed by the university from the HEALing Communities study. She will now serve until 2026. 

Chris Evans is the executive director of the commission. Other members are:

• State Treasurer Mark Metcalf
• Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander
• Von Purdy, the vice president for Advancement and Community Engagement at Simmons College
• Darren “Foot” Allen, a retired Kentucky State Trooper
•  Karen Butcher, who represents the opioid victim community. 

“As a person in long-term recovery, I take very seriously the responsibility to help ensure more people have access to innovative, transformative and life-saving treatment modalities,” Jason Roop said in a statement. “The recovery journey doesn’t end when treatment is completed, and establishing and maintaining a recovery-friendly ecosystem in our communities remains paramount to our continued success for many years to come.” 

Overdose deaths decreased in Kentucky in 2023 for the second year in a row, though 1,984 still died. That’s down from 2,135 in 2022. 

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, accounted for 1,570 of those 2023 deaths — about 79%. The 35-44 age group was most at risk, the report shows. Methamphetamine accounted for 55% of 2023’s overdose deaths. 

Despite the overall decrease, the number of Black Kentuckians who died from a drug overdose increased from 259 in 2022 to 264 in 2023. 

Ingram, the executive director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, said this is “a lot more work left to do” on prevention efforts. “We will keep supporting addiction treatment programs until every Kentuckian is saved and has found recovery.” 

The commission will next meet on July 29.