State Senate Races And Purdue Pharma — Two Conversations This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, we have all the details on West Virginia Senate races statewide. Also, in this show, we hear from an expert about the recent $8 billion Purdue Pharma settlement and whether that will help families devastated by the business practices that led so many to become addicted to pain pills.

With voting in West Virginia now underway, much attention has been paid to the presidential race and other seats up for grabs in Congress. But like every election cycle, statehouse races are also on the ballot. All 100 seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates and 17 of 34 seats in the state Senate are open. With Republicans holding 20 seats in the Senate, Democrats are hoping to gain some ground in the upper chamber and possibly take the majority. West Virginia Morning host Glynis Board spoke with senior reporter Dave Mistich about the races in the West Virginia Senate, many of which are expected to be highly competitive.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin painkillers, recently pleaded guilty to criminal charges and has reached an $8.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for its role in the opioid crisis. It’s one of a host of lawsuits that the pharmaceutical company is facing in light of the ongoing opioid epidemic that has hit West Virginia hard.

The settlement is part of Purdue’s bankruptcy restructuring plan so it’s unclear just how or if this money will reach communities. West Virginia University Law Professor Patrick McGinley is very familiar with the role pharmaceutical companies have played in this crisis. On behalf of The Charleston Gazette-Mail, McGinley was part of a team that forced the federal government to unseal documents that revealed that 100 billion prescription opioid pills flooded the U.S. from 2006-2014. He spoke with reporter Jessica Lilly about the settlement.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

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