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OPINIONS
Editorial: Summit could help find answers to prescription drug abuse
Last week, Kenova Police arrested a man and charged him with seven felony counts of possession with intent to sell. Police say the man was running an elaborate operation from his home, with 12 people selling for him and more than 300 customers. Illegal sale and use of prescription drugs has become more visible in recent years and is the topic of the third annual drug summit at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena on Thursday.
In the past, talk of drug abuse tended to focus on illegal drugs -- marijuana, heroin, powder cocaine, crack and meth, among others. In recent years, however, it has become clear that abuse of prescription painkillers must be addressed.
Usually, abuse of prescription drugs does not lead to the violence that accompanies the trade in illegal drugs. OxyContin dealers don't shoot each other in turf wars. But that does not lessen the damage that abuse of legal drugs causes to our communities.
West Virginia and the Appalachian region have some of the highest rates of abuse of prescription drugs, said Anne McGee, director of the Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership.
Area residents and professionals can address the growing trend at the third annual Cabell County drug prevention summit from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena Conference Center in Huntington. The summit invites people to hear speakers and participate in roundtable discussions. The public is invited to attend, and everyone from politicians to health care providers will participate.
Recent news items remind us all of the illegal market for legal drugs. Last week, a Kenova man was charged with seven felony counts of possession with intent to sell. Kenova Police said the man was running an elaborate operation from his home at 924 Walnut St., with 12 people selling for him and more than 300 customers.
In December, Huntington police arrested a man on federal drug trafficking charges at his workplace after an anonymous tip led to his residence. He allegedly had an estimated 100 80-milligram OxyContin tablets on him at the time of his arrest, with an additional stash of at least 100 OxyContin tablets, suspected cocaine powder and an undetermined amount of cash at his residence.
Thursday's drug summit aims to educate people about what they can do to prevent abuse, including how to properly get rid of unused medicine.
Last year, five counties in southern West Virginia -- Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Logan and Mingo -- were chosen for a pilot program that aims to put a dent in the abuse of prescription drugs.
"Our big concern is teen diversion, because medication is around the home, or it's at the grandparent's house and people are helping themselves," McGee said at the time.
Some cases of diversion occur when a patient goes to multiple physicians for pain medication and sells those drugs on the black market. Sometimes it occurs when a person steals prescription pain pills from a family member. Or when a person with leftover pills decides to sell them.
The first drug summit two years ago led to efforts that resulted in the founding of The Healing Place of Huntington.
Perhaps this summit will have a similar result. This area certainly needs more efforts that can reduce abuse and the illegal sale of prescription drugs.
