By Eric Eyre
The Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin spoke to his substance abuse task force for the final time Friday, spotlighting programs such as a crackdown on rogue pain clinics, the expanded use of a medication that reverses drug overdoses, and the launch of a toll-free hotline for West Virginians struggling with addiction.
Tomblin also announced that his office is allocating $1.3 million to bolster residential drug treatment facilities for women, increase detox beds for young people and adults and help law enforcement agencies stop drug diversion. The funding will come from recent lawsuit settlements with wholesale distributors that ship prescription drugs from manufacturers to pharmacies.
“Our work to bring more resources to fight substance abuse has not lessened,” Tomblin told members of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse. “We will continue bringing in everything we can to fight against this epidemic.”
Tomblin noted the task force started its work in 2011, years before most politicians put fighting substance abuse at the top of their agendas. The council has coordinated numerous community meetings across the state and pushed for policy changes.
“The recommendations coming from the council have directly resulted in life-changing reforms,” Tomblin said.
The task force has repeatedly advocated for the expanded use of naloxone (sold under the brand name Narcan), a drug used to reverse heroin and prescription opioid overdoses. West Virginia has the highest overdose rate in the nation.
At Tomblin’s request, state lawmakers have passed bills that allow family members and police officers to administer naloxone — not just paramedics.
“There’s been hundreds of lives saved over the past year because of Narcan,” Tomblin said.
Tomblin also cited the state’s crackdown on “pill mill” pain clinics as a positive sign in the administration’s battle against substance abuse. The state now requires pain clinics to be licensed. Many clinics failed inspections and closed.
“Today, many of them are out of business and some people got in trouble for over-prescribing,” Tomblin said.
The governor acknowledged that successful efforts to reduce the proliferation of pain medications such as OxyContin and hydrocodone have steered addicts to illicit drugs.
“As the pill mills have been cracked down on, we’re seeing more of the heroin and street drugs,” Tomblin said.
The state’s substance abuse hotline — 1-844-HELP4WV — has received more than 7,500 calls in its first year, Tomblin said. Pennsylvania recently started a similar substance abuse call center modeled after West Virginia’s. The state also has a website — www.help4wv.com — that includes a live online chat application.
Under his watch, state prisons and regional jails have increased drug treatment programs, which have reduced recidivism rates and kept the state’s inmate numbers from rising over the past five years, Tomblin said.
Tomblin said he hopes the advisory council, which was established by the governor’s executive order, won’t be disbanded after he leaves office next month. Gov-elect Jim Justice has said he would make the state’s drug abuse problem a priority.
“I would hope this group would stay together,” Tomblin said. “We will win this battle against substance abuse.”
Reach Eric Eyre at [email protected], 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.
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