Hope: Without it, addiction holds its grip
Without it, addiction holds its grip
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Those responsible for the start of the substance abuse epidemic that still plagues West Virginia continue to come to justice. Five doctors violated their oath to do no harm and have pleaded guilty to various charges relating to their time at the Hope Clinic, which had offices in Beckley, Beaver, and Charleston, W.Va., and in Wytheville, Va.
William Earley, 66, of North Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Brian Gullett, 45, of Clarksville, Pa.; Roswell Tempest Lowry, 88, of Efland, N.C.; and Vernon Stanley, 79, of Fayetteville, W.Va. pleaded guilty in federal court to felony counts of aiding and abetting obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Mark Clarkson, 64, of Princeton, W.Va., pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of aiding and abetting the misbranding of a drug involved in interstate commerce.
We all know how they got the job done, by now. These folks wrote prescriptions -- some providing up to seven pills per day -- to as many as 65 customers (federal prosecutors do not refer to them as "patients") per day. Oxycodone and other controlled substances were churned out with no legitimate medical purpose from 2010 to 2015.
It is good to know they now await their punishment.
But as the wheels of justice slowly turn, in the form of lawsuits and criminal convictions, what are we as a state doing to address the underlying causes of the continued substance abuse epidemic? Law enforcement and prosecutors are doing their work. What are policy makers and politicians doing?
There is a clue in the name used for the clinic for which these people peddled their wares. Hope.
Too many in West Virginia still have none. Too many are led by poverty, joblessness, mental health woes, insufficient education and opportunities, and any number of other socio-cultural challenges to seek a way out. Let the investigators and attorneys continue doing their jobs, by all means. But they must not be working alone.
If we are truly to stop this monster -- which did not go away, it simply evolved -- we have to be honest about some of the reasons it has been able to keep such a tight grip for so long. Only then will be have hope.