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Drug Crisis: Solving the problem is vital to community

In 2015, opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths, in West Virginia. For every 100,000 deaths in the state, more than 35 are overdoses. It is the highest per capita rate in the nation. According to Dr. Rahul Gupta, West Virginia state health officer and commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health, the trend is growing more frightening, as 2016 numbers have likely not peaked, due to toxicology results still being recorded.

Local governments and law enforcement in places such as Cabell, Kanawha, Mason and Putnam counties are seeing overdose deaths at more than 61 per 100,000. Dealers are lacing their products with fentanyl and carfentanil in an effort to make the drugs more potent, and therefore increase demand — but what they are producing is an even more deadly poison users still willingly accept.

Diseases spread by needle-sharing, such as HIV and hepatitis, are nearing outbreak levels in some parts of the state.

First responders and family members of users are in danger because simply coming in contact with drugs like carfentanil without wearing gloves or a mask can put one at risk for an overdose.

Far too many men and women who should be productive members of the workforce are unable to pass a drug test.

Meanwhile, communities and lawmakers are desperate to find ways to bring new employers and industry to the state. But would any of the facts you have just read make the Mountain State an appealing place to look for workers, if you were running a company?

“When jobs leave the area, people lose focus and don’t have anything to do, so they can end up turning to drugs,” John Deskins, executive director of the Bureau for Business and Economic Research at West Virginia University told The Exponent Telegram in Clarksburg. “In turn, this causes a rise in the percentage of the workforce that is unable to work or pass a drug test, and that can drive even more business away and discourage new businesses from locating there. So there’s a cycle of job loss, which causes increased drug use, which causes further job loss. It’s going to take a big shock to break this cycle.”

Lawmakers, educators, law enforcement, community leaders and everyday folks MUST find and implement that “big shock.” It may involve some difficult decisions. It will certainly involve a lot of honesty and hard work. But it has to happen.

Solving the drug crisis that is crippling our state is vital to our economy and the health of our people.

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