Student Art Helps Raise Awareness Around Opioids

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Kiley Ford from Rivesville Elementary & Middle School in Marion County as the winner of this year’s Kids Kick Opioids contest.

The contest received more than 2,000 entries from students at 66 middle and elementary schools across West Virginia. The submissions included a mix of drawings, poems and other designs aimed at promoting awareness.

Ford’s winning design features a drawing of an animal-like being with bloodshot eyes, its mouth open and tongue sticking out. A pill is visible inside the mouth, and the words “The truth about opioids isn’t hard to swallow” are written on the being’s tongue.

The design will soon appear in newspapers across West Virginia as the attorney general’s next public service announcement.

The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy, West Virginia Association of School Nurses and the Capitol Police helped judge the contest.

Judges also recognized Evee Matheny from Lenore PK-8 School in Mingo County and Hailey Rogers also from Rivesville Elementary & Middle School as the statewide runners-up. Their designs will appear with Ford’s on the attorney general’s website.

Judges recognized winning entries from 65 students overall. Those designs will be displayed in the State Capitol in the fall.