Drug Companies Profit from Opioid Epidemic While Regulators Look the Other Way

Drug wholesalers sent 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills into West Virginia over six years, according to an investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Meanwhile, 1,728 West Virginians died from overdoses of these two powerful painkillers.

Who let it happen? Investigative reporter Eric Eyre, of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, answered our questions about his series on The Front Porch.

(Caution: This week’s podcast contains a vulgar slang word.)

1. What was the biggest surprise for you?

Drug wholesalers shipped enough painkillers to provide 433 pills for every man, woman and child in the state, Eyre said. And in parts of the southern West Virginia coalfields, the numbers were even higher.

“I was surprised that some of the smallest pharmacies had some of the biggest numbers,” Eyre said. For example, nearly 9 million hydrocodone pills to one pharmacy in Kermit, W.Va., population 392.

“In Oceana, one pharmacy received 600,000 – 700,000 oxycodone pills a year. The Rite Aid six blocks away gets 6,000.”

2. Did the drug wholesalers do anything illegal?

“They have a legal obligation to report these suspicious orders to the (federal) Drug Enforcement Agency,” and to the state Board of Pharmacy, Eyre said.

For years, none of them did. But after a lawsuit was filed by former state Attorney General Darrell McGraw, some wholesalers began to send suspicious order reports to the Board of Pharmacy.

3. What did the Board of Pharmacy do with those reports of suspicious orders from the drug wholesalers?

They put them in a box, Eyre said. They did not tell law enforcement or even tally the information on a computer.

Eyre asked the board’s director about this: “He said the law does not prescribe what they’re supposed to do with the suspicious report, only that they’re supposed to be filed.”

Now, the board is considering sharing these with the State Police or Attorney General.

4. How do the drug wholesalers defend themselves?

“They say these are licensed pharmacies. These are licensed doctors. The responsibility should be with the boards that licensed those two groups,” Eyre said.

5. This investigation looked at the time period of 2007 – 2012. What’s happened since then?

On many levels, there’s been a crackdown on illegal use of prescription opioids, Eyre said. Hydrocodone was reclassified to make it harder to prescribe. State officials are tracking prescriptions more closely.

The number of overdoses from hydrocodone and oxycodone have leveled out and maybe declined a bit. But they’re being replaced by drugs like heroin and fentanyl.

6. What’s the relationship the flood of pain pills and today’s heroin epidemic?

“The pain pills set the stage,” Eyre said, for illegal drugs like heroin and more powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Now, those drugs are causing more and more overdoses.

7. What’s been the reaction to your story?

“Since this article came out, I have gotten emails from all over the country, saying they had an overdose in the family,” Eyre said.

“The other set is lots of emails from people who grew up in West Virginia, and worry about the state.”

8. What’s the historical context?

Front Porch co-host Rick Wilson says, “It reminds me of the Opium Wars, in which Great Britain went to war with China to have a free market in drugs.”

9. How did this even happen?

“When there’s a drug epidemic in a poor community, it’s not that big a deal.  But when it crosses over to affect middle and upper class people, it’s a tragedy,” Wilson said.

10. What Bible verse best sums up the lessons from this series?

From Wilson: Matthew 18:6 – “If anyone causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

“The Front Porch” is a place where we tackle the tough issues facing West Virginia and Appalachia with some of the region’s most interesting thinkers.

WVPB Executive Director Scott Finn serves as host and provocateur, joined by Laurie Lin, a conservative lawyer and columnist, and Rick Wilson, a liberal columnist and avid goat herder who works for the American Friends Service Committee.

Subscribe to “The Front Porch” podcast on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

An edited version of “The Front Porch” airs Fridays at 4:50 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s radio network, and the full version is available above.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @radiofinn or @wvpublicnews, or e-mail Scott at sfinn @ wvpublic.org

The Front Porch is underwritten by The Charleston Gazette Mail, providing both sides of the story on its two editorial pages. Check it out: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/

The 10 Biggest Stories from West Virginia's 2016

What were the top stories in West Virginia from 2016? We searched our archives from the past year and compiled this list of the most popular stories.

As we cap off 2016, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s producers and programs share their most memorable moments of the year. Find each of our Best of 2016 posts at wvpublic.org/term/best-2016.

 

 

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10. Chlorine Leak from Axiall Corp. Sends Two to Hospital, Evacuates Communities

Two people were transported to hospitals for inhalation injuries, others were treated at the site of a reported chlorine leak in Marshall County.

 

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9. Governor Tomblin Signs Budget that Taps Reserves

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed that took $147.5 million from the state’s $922 million Rainy Day Fund to cover a projected shortfall.

 

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8. Blankenship Gets One Year in Prison, One Year Supervised Release, $250,000 Fine

Former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship was sentenced to the maximum one year in prison and another year of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy at the company to skirt mine safety standards.

 

 

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West Virginia Public Broadcasting

7. Ohio Man Arrested in Connection with Huntington Overdoses

An Akron, Ohio man was arrested connection with a rash of overdoses in Huntington. Emergency crews responded to 26 overdoses in a four-hour span and two people died in connection with the same batch of heroin distributed in the city.

 

 

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West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

6. W.Va. Medicaid Doctors Put on Alert as State’s Cash Flows Dwindle

More than 24,000 doctors across West Virginia who accept Medicaid were put on alert Monday that the state may not be able to “continue to process claims at the same consistent level.”  

 

 

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West Virginia Public Broadcasting

5. PEIA Board Approves $120 Million in Cuts for Second Time

the state Public Employees Insurance Agency, or PEIA, Finance Board voted unanimously to reinstate benefit cuts, affecting health care costs for some 230,000 West Virginians.

 

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Wikimedia Commons

4. Common Core, School Calendar Bills Vetoed

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed two education bills, one that would have repealed Common Core aligned standardized tests in the state and a second that would have allowed county boards to schedule fewer then 180 days in their school calendars.

 

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Dollar Photo Club

3. West Virginia Senate Approves ‘Brunch Bill’

Senators unanimously passed a bill that would move the start of Sunday alcohol sales from 1 p.m. to 10 a.m.

 

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AP File Photo

2. Election 2016

From the primary elections in May to the general election in November, election stories were constant sources of headlines in 2016. Here were the top posts:

Live Blog: 2016 West Virginia Primary

10 Takeaways from the W.Va. Primary Election

‘Trump Digs Coal’ at Charleston Rally

Election 2016: West Virginia Goes For Trump, Justice Wins, State Legislature Remains with GOP

 

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West Virginia Public Broadcasting

1. June 2016 Flood

Heavy flooding in West Virginia during June claimed 23 lives, destroyed more than 4,000 homes and businesses and resulted in 10 counties being declared federal disaster area. Through statewide coverage and individual stories, this disaster produced the most compelling stories of 2016

Flooding in Richwood: Image Gallery

Greenbrier Resort Opens Doors to Flood Victims

‘I Almost Gave Up’: Flood Survivor Remembers the Voice Who Saved Her

Inside Appalachia: West Virginia’s 1,000 Year Flood

You’ve now experienced 2016 through West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Make sure to follow @wvpublic on social media and sign-up for our email newsletter to keep up with 2017’s stories.

18 Charged in Heroin Distribution Network

A federal prosecutor in West Virginia says 18 people have been indicted in a drug distribution network involved in moving large amounts of heroin from Baltimore to the Martinsburg area.

U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II announced Tuesday that 31-year-old Steven Robinson of Baltimore is accused of orchestrating a drug trafficking operation, while 25-year-old Terrard Ansor of Baltimore and 28-year-old Brittany Brooks of Randallstown, Pennsylvania, are accused of assisting Robinson. Fifteen others are accused of helping redistribute heroin.

A news release from Ihlenfeld’s office said four defendants haven’t been located yet. Thirteen of those charged are from West Virginia.

Marshall Creates New Position and Coalition For Opioid Fight

Marshall University is boosting its fight against the opioid addiction epidemic. The University has created a coalition to coordinate strategies with the…

Marshall University is boosting its fight against the opioid addiction epidemic. The University has created a coalition to coordinate strategies with the city of Huntington, as well as a new research position to study treatment options for addicts. 

The Huntington-based university has partnered with the city in a fight against the opioid addiction epidemic. Marshall hopes the creation of an opioid coalition and a new research position at its medical school will make progress in tackling a problem that is at the root of most issues the city faces. Dr. Joseph Shapiro is dean of the Marshall University School of Medicine.

“The first thing we have to do is put out the fire, we have to find a way to get the addict to stop using illegal narcotics in a dangerous way,” Shapiro said.

Researching the issue is just another step in a process that that has included the city creating an office of drug control policy to look at treatment for patients instead of just arresting the dealers. Huntington has also begun a harm reduction program that has the Cabell-Huntington Health Department conducting syringe exchange programs each Wednesday.

Jim Johnson is the Head of the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. He said each of the entities in Huntington were looking at the opioid epidemic in different ways, but they realized this fall they weren’t working together. They each knew the problem had started in 2006, but none of them had communicated to each other the issues they were seeing.

“We weren’t talking, we weren’t talking in 2006, not that if we had been talking would it have stopped the problem,” Johnson said. “But it would have obviously have helped in looking for the solution and that’s why, going back to it, it’s so important to break those silos.”

Johnson is heading up the coalition, along with Marshall’s Pharmacy School Dean Kevin Yingling and Amy Saunders, who leads the school’s Student Health Education Program.

They’re tasked with bringing together different groups on campus that are looking at the epidemic from different angles.

Marshall University President Jerome Gilbert said the university definitely has a role in helping the city fight the drug epidemic, that’s why he wanted to create the coalition as well as a position at the medical school.

“Part of our community is in a disease state and I think you have to treat addiction as a disease and looking at Marshall University and its place in the community,” Gilbert said. “I felt like we had a responsibility as a community partner and a member of the community to become engaged at some level in trying to help.”

The hope is that working together can start to solve issues that could lead the region and state in the right direction. Dr. Matthew Rohrbach, a delegate from the 17th District, agrees with. He said he’s trying to make the rest of the state realize that the drug epidemic is a key issue that’s keeping businesses from moving to the area.

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AP Photo

“As I’ve said, if we don’t get this problem under control and show meaningful progress, we’re just not going to move ahead economically here in this state at this point and time,” Rohrbach said.

That’s where a good research component will come in Rorhbach said, because to get the needed funding, the Legislature will want solid proof that it’s being spent wisely.

“We’re not going to get out of this problem without spending some money and that’s where I do think the Legislature gets it,” Rohrbach said. “But we’re also in a very tight budget situation in this state and we want to have some reasonable assurances that we’re spending our money in a prudent fashion.”

The goal of the new medical school position is to further examine the different treatment options available. Medical School Dean Joseph Shapiro said that in a state where treatment can be sparse at times, he’d like to explore ways to recommend treatment options on an individual basis with the goal of improving success rates.

Shapiro said he hopes to fill the position of Director of Addiction Sciences by summer. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Groups Come Together, Offer Insight on Opioid Fight

The group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care hosted a conference Tuesday at Marshall University focused on the state's opioid epidemic.The…

The group West Virginians for Affordable Health Care hosted a conference Tuesday at Marshall University focused on the state’s opioid epidemic.

The conference titled “Innovative Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic,” brought together groups from all over the state as well as national experts to discuss ways of dealing with the epidemic. Groups like the Cabell-Huntington Health Department presented their needle exchange effort and Martinsburg Police presented their Martinsburg Initiative. Dr. Anita Everett is the Chief Medical Officer for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and she was the featured speaker. Everett said it’s great to a see a state of communities trying new things and wanting to work together.

“It’s very clear that the leaders of the community here felt like there back was to the wall and they had to do something different and what was happening was not working and that was very clear and in a community that’s somewhat smaller it’s able to be nimbler,” Everett said.

Everett said the collaboration in the state could be a model for communities around the country to follow. 

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Martinsburg Officials Grant Exception for Detox Facility

Martinsburg officials have voted to allow the establishment of a proposed detox and crisis center after hours of heated debate.

The Journal reports that the Martinsburg Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a special zoning exception for the facility.

Peter J. Callahan, of Callahan Counseling Services in Martinsburg, will run the 24-hour facility as a private business with some state funding. He expects the center to open on Aug. 1. After finishing the detox, the center will help individuals find longer-term solutions.

Those in support of the center argued that solutions for the heroin epidemic are needed in the area, even if the clinic is a stepping stone.

Many also spoke in opposition, citing their fears that it would make nearby residential properties less safe.

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