"There is a season… turn, turn, turn.”
This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performance...
Home » Ground Zero for the Opioid Epidemic, How Law Enforcement is Finding New Ways to Tackle Addiction
Published
Ground Zero for the Opioid Epidemic, How Law Enforcement is Finding New Ways to Tackle Addiction
Listen
Share this Article
Like a slow-motion tsunami, the opioid epidemic continues to claim the lives of our friends and neighbors. Four of the top five states with the highest rates of drug overdose deaths are here, in Appalachia.
The drug epidemic is changing, but it’s not going away. People are still fighting for their loved ones and communities. This episode of Inside Appalachia looks at traditional and innovative ways law enforcement is tackling the challenge. And we’ll hear from people who end up behind bars anyway, as they struggle with substance use disorder.
This episode features a series of reports from The Uncertain Hour, a podcast from the American Public Media show Marketplace.
Last year we shared an episode of The Uncertain Hour on Inside Appalachia that featured their reporting about some of the root causes of the opioid epidemic. They looked at a highly aggressive marketing campaign by drug companies, like Purdue Pharma, which pushed doctors to prescribe highly addictive pain pills to patients. This week, we’ll travel back to Wise County Virginia with The Uncertain Hour’s producer Caitlin Esch.
In the past decade or so, investigations uncovered doctors who over-prescribed pain pills. Doctors are being arrested and practices are being shut down. But the high demand for opioids is still here, so that means other drugs, like methamphetamine and heroin, are replacing pills and becoming the drugs of choice for many in central Appalachia.
Also in this show, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Trey Kay, host of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s podcast Us & Them, recently spoke with Caitlin Esch about this series, and how law enforcement’s approach to fighting this challenge is evolving.
You can find the entire series about the opioid epidemic from The Uncertain Hour here.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Eric Douglas is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Jesse Wright. Glynis Board edited our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. You can find us online on Twitter @InAppalachia.
On this West Virginia Morning, drinking water in Wyoming County is making people sick but it’s unclear who is responsible. Also, a look at voter concerns ahead of May's primary election.
Across the nation, more than 390,000 children rely on foster care. However, a shortage of licensed foster homes is creating a national crisis. While official foster care cases are carefully tracked, many informal examples of kinship care aren’t part of the data. For this Us & Them episode, we hear the experiences of those who’ve been part of the foster care system.
Stock car racing’s roots run deep in Appalachia. Our twisty roads and dark hollers were home to moonshiners — and moonshine runners, who became known for their driving skills. And they became some of NASCAR’s first stars when it formed in 1948. But NASCAR’s oldest continuous racing team had nothing to do with moonshine.
On this West Virginia Morning, domestic violence prevention advocates lined the State Capitol rotunda in February, seeking a budget increase. They said lawmakers were receptive to the idea. But no increase was passed before this year’s regular legislative session ended. Jack Walker checked in with domestic violence prevention advocates on funding needs as a potential special session approaches.