'Drugs: Costs And Consequences' Traveling Exhibit Opens In Charleston

A traveling exhibit to educate students and the public about the dangers of drugs opened this week at the West Virginia Culture Center.

The arrival of the DEA Museum’s traveling exhibit Drugs: Costs and Consequences in Charleston is through a partnership between the substance use prevention program GameChanger, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the DEA Educational Foundation.

Since it was first introduced to the public at venues across the country, more than 22 million people, namely families and school children, have visited the exhibit. The interactive 5,000 square foot exhibit offers a real life look at drug production and trafficking, money laundering, the science behind addiction and the DEA’s work in West Virginia.

GameChanger founder Joe Bozcek said the DEA-sponsored exhibit will be open through Jan. 15.

“This is real stuff, I mean it is a real drug lab, they show you what the stuff looks like, how it’s made and the things that are done,” he said. “I hope everyone in West Virginia will take advantage of it because it will help save lives.”

Exhibit organizers hope Drugs: Costs and Consequences will serve as a springboard to community conversation by educating future generations on the high cost of drug abuse on families, kids and communities.