Opioids Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Federal Monies Proposed To Address Opioid Crisis And Child Care Costs

The Biden-Harris administration is asking Congress for domestic supplemental funding to assist with the opioid crisis and child care costs — some of which would come to West Virginia.

If adopted, West Virginia would receive an estimated $39 million to counter fentanyl trafficking and strengthen addiction treatment, overdose prevention measures and recovery support services.

Xavier Becerra, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in West Virginia, about 76 percent of the overdose deaths that occurred between May 2022 and May 2023 are due to synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl.

“From this year to the previous year, West Virginia saw, I think, almost 1,500 deaths from overdose, most of those opioid overdoses, and the lion’s share today is driven by fentanyl,” Becerra said. “And so the $1.6 billion that the president is requesting in emergency funding for opioids would really help us target fentanyl. And let states try to make sure that they can catch someone before they overdose.”

According to provisional data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, for a 12-month period ending in May 2023, 1,184 West Virginians died of an opioid overdose.

West Virginia also stands to gain $107 million for child care, if the domestic supplemental funding request is adopted by Congress.

Becerra said pandemic-era child care stabilization increased the labor force participation for mothers with young children by an additional three percentage points.

“The president’s request is to help extend funding for many of those child care centers, over 61,000 children and their families in West Virginia benefited from those funds, and at least 1,600 childcare providers,” Becerra said. “I think the average cost of childcare in West Virginia is somewhere around $9,000. And we know that the stabilization funds end up saving families over $1,000 a year in their childcare expense per child.”

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the price of child care for an infant in West Virginia is $8,736 per year.

Save A Life Day To Distribute Narcan

An event that started in West Virginia’s Kanawha Valley has now spread to all 13 federally recognized Appalachian states.

All 13 Appalachian states will be hosting more than 300 events on September 14 to distribute Naloxone.

Save a Life Day organizers started in 2020 with a two-county pilot project in West Virginia, which then expanded to 17 counties in 2021, and last year all 55 West Virginia counties participated.

Naloxone is a medication that works to reverse opioid overdoses. One common brand is Narcan, an easy-to-use nasal spray.

Now, just three years since the effort began, West Virginia-based SOAR is working with more than 180 counties across 13 states.

SOAR is a Charleston-based community group with the stated goal of promoting the health, dignity, and voices of individuals who are impacted by drug use.

Iris Sidikman, who goes by they/them pronouns, is the Appalachian Save a Life Day Coordinator with SOAR.

“You never know when you might need that,” Sidikman said. “You might see someone overdose in a grocery store parking lot at a park by your house like best case scenario, you have it and you know how to use it and you never have to.”

A map of events can be found at www.savealifeappalachia.org.

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

Governor Appoints Five To Opioid Settlement Board

Gov. Jim Justice announced his five appointments to the board of the West Virginia First Foundation.

In a press release, the appointments were listed as:

Matt Harvey – Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, representing Region 2.
Jeff Sandy – Former Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, representing Region 3.
Dora Stutler – Harrison Superintendent of Schools, representing Region 4.
Alys Smith – Attorney and Philanthropist, representing Region 5.
Greg Duckworth – Raleigh County Commissioner and retired State Trooper, representing Region 6.

During the 2023 regular session the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 674 formally recognizing the West Virginia First Foundation. The foundation is designed to direct the spending of settlement funds from opioid litigation the state has engaged in. It is estimated the settlements could amount to $1 billion over the next 10 to 15 years.

The foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The remaining three percent will be held by the state in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.

The board includes 11 members, six selected by the counties and five appointed by the governor. All six regions elected their representatives in July via a quorum of elected officials from the towns, cities and counties of each region.

Those previously elected members of the board are:

Region 1: Steven Corder
Region 2: Tim Czaja
Region 3: Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce
Region 4: Jonathan Board
Region 5: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
Region 6: Dr. Tony Kelly

A search for the foundation’s executive director is underway.

W.Va. First Foundation Elects Board Members

Through settlements from various lawsuits with opioid manufacturers and distributors, West Virginia stands to gain about $1 billion over the next 10 to 15 years.

The money should be used for recovery and prevention programs. To make sure it is spent correctly, the West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia First Foundation to distribute those settlement funds in the 2023 regular session. Senate Bill 674 legally recognizes the creation of the foundation. It was signed into law on March 11.

The board includes 11 members, six selected by the counties and five appointed by the governor. All six regions elected their representatives this week via a quorum of elected officials from the towns, cities and counties of each region.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey addressed the vital need for fiscal responsibility in distributing these funds, noting the time it could take to receive all abatement funding.

“Some of our settlements, we negotiated upfront one-year flat fee, but many others were two years, five years, 10, 15 years, and it goes out over a period of time,” Morrisey said. “That’s why it’s really important that financial management is part of this process as well, so that the money doesn’t get squandered, and that there’s a lot of planning for the future.”

The board members will make decisions about how the funds will be distributed. An “expert panel” will be formed after the board is seated to advise in these funding decisions.

Dr. Michael “Tony” Kelly of Raleigh County was the first board member selected on July 5 to represent Region 6. Kelly was joined July 12 by Berkeley County Community Corrections Director Timothy Czaja and Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce, selected to represent Region 2 and Region 3 respectively.

Per the memorandum of understanding that frames the settlement distribution, board members will serve staggered terms of three years. An Executive Director will be appointed by the Attorney General and approved by the board.

At the Region 5 West Virginia First Foundation Regional Selection Meeting, Dr. Matthew Christiansen was elected to represent Cabell, Clay, Boone, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Mason, Mingo and Wayne Counties.

Region-5-West-Virginia-Foundation-Regional-Selection-Meeting Download

Christiansen is also West Virginia’s State Medical Director and the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Public Health.

“These dollars in the foundation are state dollars, but my appointment on this board is through Region Five. If there is a potential conflict of interest there, I could recuse myself from those votes,” Christiansen said. “But I think the importance here is transparency and accountability around where the money is going so that everyone can see that that there are no nefarious issues that are happening that that would account for that. But as it currently stands, I don’t see any necessary areas of overlap where that might be an issue.”

At the meeting members of the Kanawha County Commission also voted to require board meetings of the foundation be conducted in compliance with the West Virginia Open Meetings Act.

While Morrisey highlighted the need for transparency, he also said many questions won’t be answered until the board is seated.

“I think that as time goes forward, once that board gets constituted, I think they will be setting up a lot of the rules of the road in terms of how there’ll be interactions and I encourage, strongly encourage public processes where people get to participate,” Morrisey said. “So, I think that’s important. I think the goal of this was to have an open, transparent process, but also be able to bring experts together and to allow for some expertise and deliberation as well.”

Region 4 elected Marion County businessman Jonathan Board to represent them on the board Thursday. The region covers 13 counties including Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Taylor, Doddridge, Harrison, Barbour, Tucker, Gilmer, Lewis, Braxton, Upshur and Randolph.

Board says West Virginia has a unique opportunity to address the issues opioids have caused and stop the destruction.

“The question is what happens to the next generation, we are teetering on complete catastrophe,” Board said. “That’s why this is a beautiful thing where we can step in and say, we’re going to stem the tide. We’re going to fill the gap. And we’re going to find solutions. But we have to do it now.”

He acknowledged that although every community represented by the board is facing the same issue, each community will require a different approach to a solution.

“I think that’s what’s so special about this opportunity,” Board said. “Our needs in Elkins and in Fairmont, and in Morgantown and in Harrison County, they’re all different. We’re dealing with the same challenge. But it needs different solutions. And that’s why this is really valuable.”

Board also said there will need to be a robust vetting process to ensure the money is spent correctly and with communities’ best interests in mind.

This is not the first time the state has received a large amount of money to address chronic issues. At Thursday’s meeting David Street, a member of the Barbour County Commission and director of an hospital emergency department, brought up the issue of trying to administer federal broadband money appropriately.

“I live in this world every day, and every night at the commission meetings,” Street said. “My observation is this: in both worlds, I’m seeing 501(C)3s and groups pop up like a plague. It disgusts me.”

Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom, who led the Region 4 meeting, thanked Street for his comment.

“First it was broadband, now its opioid funding,” Bloom said. “All county commissions are dealing with that. I think that’s a concern that you brought up and I’m sure, you can look at several of the other commissioners shaking their heads. ”

After the meeting, Bloom echoed Morrisey and said electing the board is only the first step.

“There’s an expertise committee, and another regional committee, which we have no idea how to set that up yet or what we’re doing,” Bloom said. “I am just glad that this is over.”

On the agenda for Thursday’s meeting was also a discussion regarding best practices for the board. As in Region Five the previous day, the elected officials voted unanimously to require that the by-laws of the West Virginia First Foundation require all board meetings be conducted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

“We made it very clear that Region Five, Region Four are adamant, unanimously that these meetings need to be open, so everyone understands how the process is, where the money’s going, and how it’s going to be spent,” Bloom said. “We’re very worried. We don’t want to see a continuance of what happened with the tobacco, we don’t want to continue to what’s going on with broadband.”

Bloom says the region will submit the names of the other candidates to Gov. Jim Justice to be considered for his five appointments to the board.

No selections have been made by the executive office, according to the latest report from Justice’s office. It is not clear what will happen if Justice’s selections are not made clear by the Monday, July 17 deadline. The governor’s selections are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

According to Morrisey’s Press Secretary, John Mangalonzo, the regional selections still have to be certified.

“Keep in mind that an accounting firm has seven days from the date of the election to certify the votes and submit the certified results to the AG’s and governor’s offices,” Mangalonzo said in an email.

Region 1: Steven Corder
Region 2: Tim Czaja
Region 3: Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce
Region 4: Jonathan Board
Region 5: Dr. Matthew Christiansen
Region 6: Dr. Tony Kelly

Justice’s office did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.

Decoding The Drug Epidemic

When it comes to decoding the language of the drug epidemic, advocates say compassionate language plays a crucial part in discussing the drug epidemic.

When it comes to decoding the language of the drug epidemic, advocates say using compassionate language is vital when speaking with the people behind the numbers.

This language is also medically accurate, as clinicians’ diagnostic manuals have changed.

“In behavioral health disorders there is, for the past several decades, there has been something called the DSM,” said Michael Haney, director of addiction treatment center PROACT, based in Huntington. “It’s the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of psychiatric disorders, and there used to be a delineation between abuse and dependence which I think is where the whole idea of addiction dependence got confused because abuse is someone that was a problem user, but it hadn’t gotten to the point where they were truly considered as having a disease or sick.”

In 2013, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM 5 was released, removing terms like substance abuse for a more simple term.

“It’s simply use disorder,” Haney said. “And it’s like alcohol use disorder, mild alcohol use disorder, moderate or alcohol use disorder severe. And that really just depends on how much of an impact it’s having on you.”

Laura Lander has lived in West Virginia for nearly 20 years and watched the trajectory of the drug epidemic from a social work perspective as an associate professor at West Virginia University’s (WVU) Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry.

“And now, it’s really a kind of on a continuum,” Lander said. “So people have mild, moderate, or severe substance use disorder. So that’s the diagnosis. So addiction is really an umbrella term, which is not a diagnostic term, is really more of a descriptive colloquial term that we use.”

Lyn O’Connell, associate director for the Division of Addiction Sciences at Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, said avoiding derogatory terms and judgemental labels and instead employing person-first language can increase empathy and reinforce the idea that people are experiencing a health issue rather than a moral failing.

“One of the other reasons it matters is because, and we don’t use this term, but if we refer to someone as an addict, we don’t want to use that term, because it’s not person-centered, and it really dehumanizes the individual,” O’Connell said. “So we want to talk about a person with a substance use disorder because they are still a person. And so we want to refer to that person-centered language. The reason for doing that is also to try and reduce stigma to remind people that there is a person in the conversation.”

O’Connell said that with the understanding that language shapes perception and attitudes, adopting an empathetic approach can pave the way for more effective support systems and treatments.

“And although people might say, ‘well, that’s not going to change how someone enters treatment,’ it absolutely does. How we refer to programs, how we refer to people, how we talk about issues definitely impact our willingness to have treatment,” O’Connell said. “There’s no better example other than probably a needle exchange versus a harm reduction program.”

According to O’Connell, compassionate language not only benefits those directly affected by substance use disorder but also promotes a more inclusive dialogue among policymakers, health care professionals and the general public.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t done enough to combat that first piece of language, but we really want to make sure that, that terminology has impacted our willingness to treat people or provide funding or to legislate this overall,” O’Connell said.

Lander said using compassionate language doesn’t minimize the severity of the drug epidemic but rather acknowledges the humanity and inherent worth of every individual impacted by it. And it has practical applications as well.

“Previously, we had found there was a stigma around patients receiving Narcan,” Lander said. “Even though there was a state order in place that people did not need a prescription to receive it. It was hard for them to get it from the pharmacies. And now we have distributed so much free Narcan and it’s almost become like a household item, which on the one hand, you can think of as sad. On the other hand, you can think of as what an amazing thing we have done to really de-stigmatize a rescue medication, which allows people to live long enough to hopefully get into treatment and into recovery.”

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

Federal, State And Local Officials Warn Against ‘Tranq Dope’

Federal authorities are calling the emergence of fentanyl mixed with xylazine a public safety threat.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued an alert Monday warning of a “sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine,” which is also known as “tranq” or “tranq dope.”

Xylazine has flown under the radar of federal officials because of its status as a veterinary drug. Meaning, it is not a controlled substance and therefore not subject to review by federal authorities.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally approved xylazine in 1972 as a sedative and analgesic for use in veterinary medicine.

Xylazine is a non-opioid agent that’s been linked to a growing number of overdose deaths across the country. As a non-opioid, the drug poses a threat to humans in part because it does not respond to typical revival methods like Narcan.

Leigh Brooks, the medical director of the medically assisted treatment program at Bluestone Primary Care in Princeton, W.Va., has seen firsthand the effects that xylazine and other novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have had on people’s lives.

“I see a positive xylazine test, probably one or two a week and this has been since August of 2022,” Brooks said. “But we do know that some of the side effects that happens, like dry mouth, they get drowsy, at first, an increase in blood pressure and increase in heart rate, then heart rate, lowers blood sugar goes up, patients develop hypothermia, and then they go into respiratory distress. And also at the injection site, they can get necrotic tissue.”

Federal authorities are calling the emergence of fentanyl mixed with xylazine a public safety threat.

Joshua Schrecker is the Senior Director of Clinical Affairs at Aegis Sciences Corporation, a toxicology and medication monitoring laboratory that has been tracking the use of xylazine for years.

“We had the prescription opioid epidemic, and then it became the illicitly manufactured fentanyl epidemic,” Schrecker said. “And now we’re seeing adulteration of illicit opioids, traditional illicit substances, like cocaine, with sort of a hodgepodge, or mixing of drugs.”

The DEA reported 23 percent of fentanyl powder contained xylazine in 2022. Despite this alarming report and many others about the rise of xylazine, federal, state, and local law enforcement do not have the tools necessary to effectively monitor its spread or put prevention measures in place.

On Tuesday, federal lawmakers, including Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, introduced the “Combating Illicit Xylazine Act” to classify the drug as a controlled substance, among other measures.

The Combating Illicit Xylazine Act, if passed, would:

Classify its illicit use under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
Enable the DEA to track its manufacturing to ensure it is not diverted to the illicit market.
Require a report on the prevalence, risks, and recommendations to best regulate the illicit use of xylazine.
Ensuring all salts and isomers of xylazine are covered when restricting its illicit use.
Declaring xylazine an emerging drug threat.

Xylazine is essential in veterinary medicine with large animals. According to Sen. Manchin this legislation would not infringe upon the rights of veterinarians, farmers, cattlemen or ranchers.

“In the last year, more than 106,000 Americans and 1,400 West Virginians died from drug related overdoses,” Manchin said. “It’s heartbreaking to lose so many of our fellow Americans and West Virginians to this devastating epidemic, and Congress must take meaningful action to address the crisis, which includes the surging threat of the highly dangerous xylazine drug. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure our law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to monitor and control the spread of illicit xylazine, while ensuring its continued access for veterinary medicine.”