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Lawmakers Legalize Drug Testing Strips

A bill to legalize drug test strips passed both chambers last week.

A drug test strip is a small strip of paper that can detect the presence of cutting agents, like fentanyl, in all different kinds of drugs.

Under the current state code, drug testing strips are considered drug paraphernalia. This means someone who is found in possession of drugs can be additionally charged for possession of drug paraphernalia if they have drug testing strips.

Senate Bill 269 removes drug testing strips from the state’s list of drug paraphernalia. It passed the Senate on Tuesday and the House of Delegates on Friday. The bill has gone to Gov. Jim Justice’s desk for his signature.

Lawmakers passed a similar bill in 2022, exempting testing strips that detect fentanyl from that statute. House Bill 4373 went into effect in June of that year.

Proponents of the bill like Iris Sidikman (they/them), harm reduction program director for the Women’s Health Center in Charleston, say it could save lives.

They said while the fentanyl testing strips have been useful, the newest cutting agent, xylazine is the most requested test strip. Under current state law, it would be illegal for the clinic to distribute xylazine tests.

“The most immediate thing that this legislation would allow is for us to distribute xylazine test strips, which many people have asked me about here at the clinic as part of our Harm Reduction Program. People are interested in them,” Sidikman said.

According to the Bureau for Public Health’s Drug Overdose Mortality report, in 2021 fentanyl and fentanyl analogs were involved in 76 percent of all drug overdose deaths occurring in West Virginia, up from 58 percent in 2017.

According to a June 2023 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) brief, in 2021, the highest rate of drug overdose deaths involving xylazine occurred in Region 3, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Fentanyl was the most frequently co-occurring drug mentioned on xylazine death records between 2018 and 2021.

Sidikman said people knowing what is in their drugs allows them to use more safely and better respond to overdoses around them.

“I think that they allow people to make better, more informed decisions about their health and what they do with their bodies and I think that that’s a good thing,” Sidikman said.

Sidikman said the harm reduction program aims to provide people with the tools necessary to stay healthy and safe while they navigate their lives.

“Whether or not they choose to end their substance use, reduce their substance use whatever they choose,” Sidikman said. “In order for people to be able to make positive changes in their life, they have to be alive.”

Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, was the only legislator to vote against Senate Bill 269.

“So in spite of all the efforts that we’ve made on these enablement measures, and that’s what I see, this is just, it’s another enablement feel-good measure,” Tarr said. “We are seeing still an escalation of our population that is using drugs and being significantly harmed by them.”

Tarr said he wants West Virginia to be the last place someone would want to use or sell drugs.

“West Virginia ought to be the absolute worst place in the country to be involved in the drug industry, illicit drug industry,” Tarr said. “This should be the absolute last place in the world you want to come to do drugs, sell drugs, be busted for drugs, and frankly, for rehab, because our rehab has been an abysmal failure.”

Sidikman said the legalization of all drug testing strips would allow them and their team to stay ahead and the newest cutting agents.

“If there is a new drug that enters the supply that we that testing strips are developed for, we would automatically be able to give those out and we wouldn’t have to wait and go back to the legislature and get those legalized before being able to give them out,” Sidikman said.

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

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.

Foundation To Distribute Opioid Funds Holds First Meeting

The first meeting of the West Virginia First Foundation took place Monday morning in Charleston.

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 to be spent for recovery and prevention programs.

To ensure the money is used correctly, the West Virginia Legislature created the West Virginia First Foundation to distribute those settlement funds.

The organization held its first meeting on Monday and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey reminded the board how the money can be spent.

“Anything that is related to the drug epidemic would be permissible, whether it is education, prevention, treatment, law enforcement or other matters,” Morrisey said.

The board elected its chair, Matt Harvey, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, and vice chair, Dr. Matthew Christiansen, who also serves as the state health officer and commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Public Health.

The board also elected its treasurer as Jeff Sandy, former secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and its secretary, Dora Stutler, Harrison County Schools superintendent.

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

The foundation will handle 72.5 percent of the state’s settlement funds, while 24.5 percent will go to local governments. The state will hold the remaining 3 percent in escrow to cover any outstanding attorney’s fees.

Each region is represented by their elected representative:

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

Per the memorandum of understanding that frames the settlement distribution, board members will serve staggered terms of three years.

Representatives from Huntington Bank were present at the meeting because they served as the escrow agent to the foundation, free of charge.

The board voted to open an account with Huntington Bank, then moved into executive session for the remainder of the afternoon.

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.

Senate Starts Week By Passing A Dozen Bills

It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to healthcare and substance use.

It was a busy day for the Senate as they passed a dozen bills, ranging from issues of schools to health care and substance use.

First up was Senate Bill 51, which would require an impact statement in certain instances of a school closing or consolidation. School closure and consolidation have been pervasive in the state as the population continues to decline. According to the 2020 Census, West Virginia lost 3.2 percent of its population since 2010.

Senate Bill 258, which would eliminate a $10,000 cap on rent-to-own agreements in the state, was the only bill that did not pass unanimously.

“Currently in the law, it says that there cannot be a rent-to-own contract related to consumer goods which has a cash value, fair market value of more than $10,000. This bill, if it passes, will remove that cap completely,” said Sen. Charles Trump, R-Morgan. “Consumers and rent to own businesses will be free to enter into whatever contract they like regardless of the amount of value consumer goods which is the subject of the contract.”

Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, both voted against the bill but did not provide comment on the floor.

Senate Bill 282 creates the West Virginia Guardian Program. The program would allow county boards of education to contract with honorably discharged law enforcement officers to provide public safety and/or security on public school grounds and buildings.

With all the federal money coming into the state, Senate Bill 439 aims to help one state department complete its projects more easily.

“This is a pretty uncomplicated, easy bill. All it does is streamline the process for the DEP to bid and award contracts.” said Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker. “With all the federal money coming in, they’re afraid they’re not gonna get all the bids out for mine reclamation and some other projects. The Department of Highways is already doing this and it’s working well for them.”

The Senate also passed:

Senate Bill 248, clarifying when excess funds accumulated by boards are to be transferred to General Revenue Fund
Senate Bill 270, adding exemption to permit requirement for cremation for research for institution arranging the final disposition of a decedent who donated his or her body to science
Senate Bill 271, modifying approval process requirements for First Responders Honor Board
Senate Bill 283, updating the language of the Military Incentive Program, which provides a tax credit to employers in the state for hiring certain members of a class of veterans, to include all veterans

Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, addresses the Senate on Monday Jan. 30, 2023. *Credit Will Price/WV Legislative Photography*

One Senator, Four Bills

One-third of the bills in front of the Senate on third reading Monday were sponsored by Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood. He said the bill’s aim was to address a chronic issue in the state.

“Three of the four bills that were on third reading today, deal with the homeless/drug crisis that is especially affecting two or three counties, that being Wood County, Cabell County, maybe you can say Kanawha County, maybe one or two others,” Azinger said.

“In Wood County we have four percent of the population and 25 percent of the beds, and we could potentially have double that if Ohio Valley College is purchased by these folks that have these drug rehab places. These bills are trying to constrict. The issues that we have in Wood County with homeless camps, with crime, as you can imagine, break ins and burglary, it’s just off the charts.”

Senate Bill 239 would require the Commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health to engage community stakeholders in a study of homeless demographic information throughout West Virginia, due by July 1, 2024. Azinger said better understanding the state’s unhoused population is important to ensure the best use of the state’s resources.

“The study is basically just to know where the homeless folks are in West Virginia, why they are migrating from one part of the state to the other and how many of these homeless people are from out of state,” he said.

“We’re getting tons of out-of-state people that come to West Virginia, to the drug rehab places, because we have a lot of beds in one county, Cabell, but also, because we have benefits. We give away, you know, all kinds of freebies, and the word gets out on the street, cross-country, ‘Hey go to West Virginia.’ And that’s what’s happening. We want to truncate that, staunch the bleeding, put a stop to it, and make it reasonable. We’re not kicking anybody out of beds, we don’t want to do that, we want people that want help to get help.”

Senate Bill 243 would require the institutions giving people that help with substance use issues to also provide transportation after treatment has ended. The mandate for transportation is broad-reaching, as the bill requires, “a means of transportation back to the individual’s state of birth, a state in which they have previously lived, or a state where they have a family support structure” be provided. Azinger said there is no funding for the requirement by design.

“Just send these folks back to where they have family, to a state that they’re from, or someplace where they have connections and relationships and a history there,” he said. “We’re just making the drug rehab places have some skin in the game. Let them pay the price back for the bus ticket. Parkersburg paid $24,000 in bus tickets last year. So that’s $24,000 that, in my opinion, the City of Parkersburg shouldn’t have to pay.”

He also stated that the requirement serves two purposes: getting those individuals fresh out of substance use treatment back to their support system, and out of West Virginia.

Azinger also sponsored Senate Bill 241, which shifts the responsibility of investigating and enforcing of, the Patient Brokering Act, as well as Senate Bill 251, which requires the display of the official U.S. motto, “In God We Trust” in all state schools.

“Our country was built on God,” Azinger said. “Our America was birthed by the Great Awakening, religious revivals in the early 1700s was the impetus, was a birthright of the American Revolution. That’s always how we have operated. So why did we take it out? What’s happened since we’ve taken it out? Well, a lot of bad things have happened since we’ve taken it out, so let’s start bringing God back into the schools.”

Completed Legislative Action

Two more bills passed through the legislative process and are now on their way to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature.

Senate Bill 143 is titled Relating to Adopt-A-Stream Program. The bill would establish an Adopt-a-Stream program to promote the cleaning of the state’s waterways, similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program.

Senate Bill 231 transfers administration of West Virginia Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Matching Funds Program to Department of Economic Development.

Both bills originated in the Senate but were amended by the House and returned to the Senate for final approval.

Eastern Panhandle Youth Camp Reaches Out To Children Of Families Affected By Substance Use Disorder

The Boys and Girls Club of the Eastern Panhandle is opening registration for a year-round youth camp for children from families affected by substance use disorder.

Camp Mariposa operates around one weekend a month and combines traditional outdoor camp activities like campfires, hiking and archery with educational sessions on mental and emotional health, substance use prevention and yoga.

The camp is free, with the club providing transportation, meals, bed linens and hygiene items to the participants. A mental health professional is also on staff to help teach prevention lessons.

“It’s not therapy, but it does teach kids how to say no to peer pressure, how to make good decisions so that they don’t fall into this cycle of addiction,” said Camp Director Kait McKay.

McKay also said it’s a way for caregivers in active recovery to help provide an extra support system for their children.

“A lot of our families, the one who signs these children up for the camp, is oftentimes a caregiver that’s in active recovery themselves,” McKay said. “And so they see the value in building up a support system for their youth.”

The camp is open to children ages 9 through 12.

Interested families in the Eastern Panhandle can register or ask for information by emailing kmckay@bgcepwv.org or by calling 304-279-3186.