Tag: Prescription Drugs

Four Counties Awarded Drug Incinerators

Four West Virginia counties will receive drug incinerators to destroy old and unwanted prescription drugs.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office announced that the devices will go to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the Huntington Police Department, the Star City Police Department and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

Morrisey’s office says the incinerators will help law enforcement officers dispose of the drugs turned into their offices.

The four departments also agreed to accept and destroy pills from other law enforcement agencies in their region.

The incinerators are an extension of a program that has put drug drop boxes throughout the state.

Prescription Drug Collection Effort Set in West Virginia

Another prescription drug collection effort is set for next weekend in West Virginia.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies will be collecting expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs at designated drop-off sites.

The collection will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at more than 100 locations across the state.

Officials say the collection helps the DEA and other agencies fight against the epidemic of illegal prescription drug abuse.

Nearly three tons of prescription drugs were collected at a similar event statewide in May.

Drug Wholesalers Settle in Pill Shipment Lawsuit

Five drug wholesalers have agreed to a $4.2 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that they shipped an excessive number of prescription opioids to West Virginia.

A news release from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Thursday announced the settlement with Anda Inc., The Harvard Drug Group, Associated Pharmacies, KeySource Medical Inc. and Quest Pharmaceuticals. As part of the settlement, they deny the lawsuit’s allegations.

Miami-Luke previously agreed to settle for $2.5 million, bringing the total in the lawsuit to $6.7 million.

In 2012, then-Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed a lawsuit against 12 prescription drug wholesalers. Documents show that the companies distributed painkillers to notorious “pill mill” pharmacies in West Virginia’s smallest towns and poorest counties.

The release says the attorney general, drug wholesalers, and state health and public safety agencies settled to avoid delay, expense and inconvenience, and uncertainty of litigation.

Morrisey Announces Opioid Public Service Announcements

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says a series of public service announcements is aimed at encouraging state consumers to explore alternatives to opioid prescription pills for pain therapy.

Morrisey unveiled the public service announcements Thursday that will appear in print, radio and social media websites. He says the PSAs also will promote a better understanding of the opioid epidemic.

Consumers are being encouraged to ask their doctors why they are being prescribed opioids, whether alternative treatments are available and, if not, whether a lower effective dosage is available.

Morrisey wants to reduce opioid use in West Virginia by 25 percent.

The initiative is a cooperative effort between the attorney general’s office and the West Virginia boards of medicine and osteopathic medicine.

Report Finds Pill Mill Pharmacies Contributing to WV Drug Crisis

Earlier this week the Charleston Gazette-Mail published an investigative report about “pill mills” in southern West Virginia. These are pharmacies that accept and distribute extraordinarily large numbers of prescription painkillers. Some of the doctors who have sent patients to these pharmacies have since been indicted on federal charges related to drug trafficking and abuse.

Kara Lofton sat down with Gazette-Mail reporter Eric Eyre to talk about the current lawsuit surrounding the pharmacies and how they have fueled West Virginia’s drug epidemic.

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

W.Va. to Participate in Eleventh Drug Take-Back Day

Law enforcement agencies across West Virginia will participate in a national event Saturday attempting to get unused prescription drugs out of homes where they could potentially be abused.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency and Department of Justice sponsor several National Drug Tack-Back days every year. Saturday’s event marks the 11th annual event.

The events aim to provide a safe, convenient and responsible method of disposal while also educating the general public about the potential for their abuse.

Events in West Virginia will take place at several locations from 10 am to 2 pm Saturday. To find a drop off location near you, visit the federal DEA’s website.

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