Addiction Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Supreme Court Will Weigh Cabell County, Huntington Opioid Lawsuit

This year every county in West Virginia, except Cabell County, is set to begin receiving opioid settlement funds, totalling over 400 million dollars from a nearly statewide lawsuit that was won in 2022.

Cabell County, and its largest city, Huntington, decided to bring their own joint lawsuit. They lost that suit in 2022, despite suing with the same claim that was used in successful state and nationwide lawsuits that the pharmaceutical companies had created a “public nuisance.”

This year every county in West Virginia, except Cabell County, is set to begin receiving opioid settlement funds, totaling over 400 million dollars from a nearly statewide lawsuit that was won in 2022.

The judge presiding over the case, U.S. District Judge David Faber, had a narrower interpretation over what constitutes a public nuisance than other judges on previous cases. The city and county appealed the decision.

Now the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considering the case, has asked the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals to answer a critical question: “Under West Virginia’s common law, can conditions caused by the distribution of a controlled substance constitute a public nuisance and, if so, what are the elements of a public nuisance claim?”

If the Supreme Court determines that those conditions do constitute a public nuisance claim then the case can proceed. Otherwise, the case against the pharmaceutical companies is dead.

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said the nearly 100 million pills that were distributed to his city of less than 45,000 residents led to thousands of overdose deaths — and he hopes the courts see it that way as well.

“We remain hopeful that the court will find that under West Virginia law,” Williams said. “The City of Huntington and Cabell County had the right to file its claim that distributors of opioids can be held accountable for flooding the market with opioids and the resulting devastation of the opioid epidemic.”

Huntington was one of the hardest hit communities by the opioid epidemic. According to city officials, 1 in 10 residents is currently, or has been addicted to opioids. Williams said he is happy that the effort is still alive, so that the community can continue to heal.

“The reason that we need a settlement is to be able to rebuild and build back our community,” Williams said. “In a way that we can create a level of resilience to be able to overcome the curse that was placed on our community as a result of the greed of those companies.”

West Virginia Public Broadcasting reached out to the three pharmaceutical companies in the lawsuit, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health, but did not hear back in time for broadcast.

Local Outcry Spurs Beckley To Drop Addiction Recovery Resource Expansion

Last month, Beckley was poised to become the first city nationally to earn a special status for its addiction recovery resources. But on Tuesday, Beckley residents packed a meeting of the Beckley Common Council to express concerns over the plan.

Last month, Beckley was poised to become the first city nationally to earn a special status for its addiction recovery resources.

Now, the city has dropped that plan entirely.

By creating new recovery resources — like an addiction advisory council and recurring community destigmatization events — Beckley would have earned the international status of “inclusive recovery city,” joining 26 other cities around the world.

But on Tuesday, Beckley residents packed a meeting of the Beckley Common Council to express concerns over the plan.

Some said Mayor Rob Rappold had adopted the plans without first accepting public comments or seeking council approvals.

Others claimed the new resources would over-extend public resources and draw more homeless people to the city.

Mary West, a Beckley resident and former council candidate, expressed disapproval of the plans and homelessness in the city.

There are “all these homeless people that I see walking through here, and they’re in front of my house, throwing backpacks in my yard with drugs,” she said.

During the council meeting, Rappold said he was surprised to hear the plans had garnered any backlash, maintaining that they would benefit the local community.

But on Thursday he dropped the project entirely, echoing national trends.

Resident concerns over homelessness and drug use have delayed rehab centers in the Bronx, Boston and North Carolina, blocking rehab expansions as overdoses rise nationally. For years, West Virginia has had more overdose deaths than any other state.

James Phillips, the local addiction recovery advocate who spearheaded the project, declined to comment on this story, and referred West Virginia Public Broadcasting to a Wednesday press release.

“The purpose of an inclusive recovery city is not to establish a sanctuary city or initiate a radical shift in approach,” he said in the press release. “It is not a program designed to attract or increase any capacity, and it requires no city funding, assets or grants to implement.”

In response to community concerns, Phillips will host a presentation and community discussion on the plans March 19 at 9:30 a.m. at 410 Neville Street in Beckley.

Phillips said that the project aimed to bolster support for residents experiencing addiction, and “walk aside them, offering hope [and] encouragement.”

The City of Beckley is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Beckley First US City To Earn International Status For Addiction Recovery Support

Beckley was named the first inclusive recovery city in the United States, joining 26 other cities globally in providing city-level resources for addiction recovery.

The first city in the United States granted a special status for its addiction recovery resources is located in southern West Virginia.

On March 19, Beckley will become the first city in the nation to be named an inclusive recovery city, joining 27 other cities globally.

Recovery cities are recognized for their citywide approach to curbing addiction and supporting individuals experiencing the condition.

To achieve its new status, the city will host four community events annually, which aim to directly include individuals experiencing addiction and promote community well-being.

In collaboration with the international recovery city program, the city will also create a new recovery council.

The group of community advocates, addiction specialists and city officials will work together to address addiction recovery on the local level.

James Phillips, executive director of the Beckley addiction recovery nonprofit Seed Sower, is spearheading the project.

He said these events are “public, celebratory, community recovery events” that will reinforce the idea that recovery “is not something to shy away from or to hide.”

“It’s okay to celebrate it openly and publicly, because there is hope,” he said.

Phillips said he hopes the city’s new designation can foster more productive conversations on addiction.

“The research has been telling us for a number of years now that one of the best ways to promote long-term remission from substance use disorder is by positive social relationships and meaningful activities in the community,” he said.

The recovery city program accomplishes this by bringing together different members of the local community to advance a shared goal of strengthening addiction recovery resources.

This citywide effort can be more effective than a person-by-person approach to addiction recovery, Phillips said.

“When you have multiple isolated pockets of recovery [that] maybe don’t know what the other pockets of recovery are doing, there are people that slip through the gaps,” he said.

Phillips and several city officials will attend a charter signing March 19 to formalize the new status.

The event will feature David Best as a keynote speaker. Best conceptualized the program, and serves as president of the Recovery Outcomes Institute in Florida.

“This model offered a strategic way to best help the people and employers of this region, leveraging the area’s considerable community strengths and organizational assets,” Best said in a statement Wednesday.

Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold expressed his support for the city’s new status.

“We are honored to be the first city in the country to be named an IRC,” he said Wednesday. “Our city leaders and our citizens have steadfastly stood with those in recovery seeking a path forward.”

With the city’s new status, Phillips said he hopes Beckley can continue “destigmatizing addiction and recovery.”

Through more community-based support, Beckley can provide new forms of support “for people who are suffering from a chronic health condition that we very rarely treat as a chronic health condition,” he said.

Program Helping Babies, Mothers With Opioid Dependence Receives More Funding

The program also works to connect mothers with addiction recovery programs, education, housing, and job opportunities. The program has expanded the follow-up care babies born with NAS receive after they are discharged from hospital.

West Virginia has continued to see a rise in babies born dependent on opioids.

To counter the problem, the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities received $1.5 million from the US Department of Health and Human Services to implement services for mothers and babies facing opioid dependence. The money will extend the five-year-old program another three years.

The center works to reduce the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) as well as aiding in the recovery for babies and mothers by connecting families with already existing resources that help in addiction recovery, health services, and social services using a patient navigator.

Program Director D. Lesley Cottrell says the patient navigator comes from the community and can relate to the lived experience of mothers and family members and can connect them with providers and resources in the area.

“They are key to connecting all the different providers across the different settings. If they notice that there’s a need, they can reach out to find a provider that provides that service,” Cottrell said.

The program introduces patient navigators at birth in the hospital.

“The patient navigator model works best when that patient navigator is employed within the birthing hospital for a couple of reasons,” Cottrell said. “So, they’re there at the birth of the infant. They can make those pivotal connections while mom and family are there. It happens before if there is a separation of mom and baby, for any reason. And they can be there to work with mom, and even the foster parent who might come into play.”

“We really want to follow up and not just with our child health visits, but in other ways,” Cottrell said. “So, with occupational therapy, if that’s needed- with speech, if that’s needed- With nutrition. This follow-up clinic would bring in an interdisciplinary group of providers to work with the family and continue to connect them to the needs as the baby develops.”

Cottrell also said that the program does not just focus on one baby but stays in contact with mothers in between babies. It also stays in contact with mothers after they have stopped using substances in case of possible relapse.

Cottrell said that the center helps extend time periods in between giving birth again by aiding in family planning for mothers.

The program works with WVU’s Children’s Hospital, Preston Memorial’s Medication Assisted Treatment Program, Court Appointed Special Advocates Incorporated (CASAINC), WVU behavioral medicine, WVU Pediatrics, and the WVU School of Nursing as well as other national, state, and local programs.

Drug Czar Visits W.Va. To Discuss Overdose Epidemic

The nation’s drug czar visited West Virginia University Thursday as the start of a multi-day tour of the state. The purpose of the trip is to discuss local and national efforts to address the overdose epidemic.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy led a panel of lawmakers, university and student leaders, including Dr. Clay Marsh, to discuss the Biden Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy.

He said he was happy to be back in what he considered his home, and that West Virginia is leading the nation in its response to the opioid epidemic.

“For several years, I’ve seen the work grow, the treatment sites get better and better, specifically in West Virginia as a model for the nation,” he said. “When we think about treatment, we in the Biden administration, until now, about $15 billion dollars have come through to West Virginia.”

Gupta previously served as the Commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau for Public Health and State Health Officer before becoming the first doctor to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy when he was appointed in 2021.

He said the landscape of the overdose epidemic has changed, shifting towards synthetic drugs and predominantly online access to them and requiring a multidisciplinary approach. Gupta compared the state of addiction medicine and policy to cancer in the early 20th century.

“This is one of the most significant shifts in drug policy we’re making in the last half century. The President’s strategy, my office, our defense, is looking at two key drivers: untreated addiction and the lack of treatment infrastructure,” he said. “That’s no different than when we were with cancer a hundred years ago. A disease that was highly stigmatized, poorly resourced. Today, if you look at it, we treat with compassion and empathy, we’re on top of the world when it comes to diagnosing, treating and preventing cancer. That’s where we need to be with addiction mental health.”

Much of the day’s discussion revolved around the issues of mental health at the core of the epidemic.

“We really need to be looking at this as itself a crisis, mental health, and then obviously its overlap with addiction as well,” Gupta said. “So I applaud the work that is happening here. I think more schools K through 12, as well as nurses have to be engaged in mental health because it is a true challenge.”

Gupta will continue his tour Friday in Charleston and in Lewisburg Saturday, where he will visit the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Experts Say Understanding Terminology Of Addiction Helps Treat The Disease

The drug epidemic is an ever-evolving hot-button topic with tons of buzzwords. But what does it all mean?

The drug epidemic is an ever-evolving hot-button topic with tons of buzzwords. But what does it all mean? Appalachia Health News Reporter, Emily Rice sat down with Susan Mullens, West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network project coordinator to discuss terminology.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Rice: What is the difference between addiction and dependence?

Mullens: Well, addiction is more of a common everyday term that really is its everyday language for substance use disorder. So, substance use disorder is the official name in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. And you know, so we just we throw around the word or use the word in common conversation, addiction. Dependence can mean different things.

Rice: When it comes to dependence, people who are quite literally prescribed something by their doctor can be dependent on it. When does that transfer over into addiction?

Mullens: Well, again, addiction is not a diagnosis. And so it’s, that’s not really an accurate progression of the disease, or a great way to describe it, because people talk about being addicted to a lot of things. But you know, do they meet clinical criteria for a diagnosis, is really the question?

Rice: When we’re talking about how the brain works, and once a person is diagnosed with substance use disorder, what changes?

Mullens: Part of it depends on the substance, part of it depends on how long the person has been using. A lot of times, individuals experience other traumas, there could also be undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries and other things. So it’s really an individualized situation. What we know is that the longer people are engaged in care, the better their long-term outcomes are.

Rice: We hear a lot of words around the drug epidemic conversation, could you explain in your own words, what harm reduction means?

Mullens: Harm reduction can mean a number of different things. And unfortunately, it’s gotten somewhat of a bad rap. And one size doesn’t fit all with regard to harm reduction either, but we do know that individuals who engage with harm reduction programs, formal type programs are five times more likely to enter treatment, and three times more likely to stop using substances. And really, the goal of harm reduction is to meet people where they are along that process because not everyone who uses substances wants to stop.

Rice: Yeah, it really does sound like each situation requires a different response. Is bringing that human element into care effective?

Mullens: Yeah, it’s definitely it’s not a cookie-cutter situation. Everyone has different needs. Everyone has different strengths. And everyone has different goals and aspirations. And you know, that’s what our programs try to do is to meet people where they are and not force, anything, any particular view or any particular pathway on to somebody because, you know, it’s, it’s, we all come with unique situations and need a customized recovery pathway.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.