Opinion

Implementing rehab in prisons

An editorial from The Daily Athenaeum

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia prison system is finally implementing a solution to its rampant prescription drug and opiate abuse problem. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported yesterday that the Southwestern Regional Jail in Logan County recently opened its first substance abuse treatment unit.

West Virginia made headlines last year after its number of heroin overdoses became the highest in the country, and President Barack Obama has spoken on the issue several times during the past year. Arrests from drug busts are high, and the West Virginia Annual Police Report from 2012 stated that 62 pounds of marijuana, 1,343 dose units of prescription pills and 107 dose units of heroin were seized from drug users in that year alone.

 However, ending drug trafficking and addiction doesn’t necessarily stem from seizure of the drugs themselves. Addicts entering jails and prisons may not be receiving the treatment they need to reenter society sober…

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