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Editorial: States need to invest in drug prevention efforts

For years, there has been a strong focus on policing and prosecution, and in recent years a greater emphasis on treatment and recovery. But what about efforts to stop addiction before it starts?

While states and the federal government are spending more to fight drug abuse, most of that money goes to deal with the consequences law enforcement, prison costs, emergency services and other impacts.

Very little of that money goes to prevention efforts. An analysis by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse estimates that for West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky it is still just a few pennies on the dollar.

A program held at Huntington Middle School last week seems to be a step in the right direction. Operation UNITE’s (Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment & Education) conducted a workshop that not only told seventh-graders about the dangers of drugs, but showed them what it looks like with simulated impaired driving experiences and other activities.

The workshop, which is provided through a partnership with the Appalachia High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, will visit every middle school in the county this year, and that is a good place to start.

While we might think of high school and college as the place where drinking and illicit drug use begins, studies show many drug users start much earlier, as young as ages 10 and 12. Tragically, that early use of alcohol and drugs increases a person’s chances of developing addictions, especially as they get older and drugs become more available.

Children and young teens also are particularly vulnerable if drugs and alcohol are present at home and when they are experiencing emotional transitions and pressures.

While schools offer drug prevention information in health classes and through special programs such as the Operation UNITE workshop, it is left to each school district to implement its own approach. Community groups such as the Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership also offer youth programs.

But with the widespread addiction problems our region has experienced in recent years, it certainly seems there is a need for more broad-based prevention programs, starting in elementary schools, as well as targeted support for high-risk children and teens.

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