MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission heard feedback on how they can help combat the opioid crisis.
Bloom and others heard from West Virginia drug czar Jim Johnson — among others — on the latest aspects of the opioid epidemic Monday. The panel of experts discussed the problems resulting from the opioid addiction epidemic and future ways to address it.
“300 people of the who’s who of Monongalia County, very concerned being there, they had a great panel,” Monongalia County Commissioner Tom Bloom said.
Among the 300 people who attended was the interest group Mountaineers for Progress who had a small gathering that took place before the forum’s official start. Drug czar Jim Johnson were was joined by D.E.A. Special Agent in Charge Karl Colder and local medical experts from Clarksburg and Morgantown, who’ve both seen the opiod crisis through a first person perspective.
“A couple of things they said that were really important to the public was the ‘Four C’s of Addiction’ and I want the public to hear this,” Bloom said. “One is impaired control over drug use, two is compulsive use, third is continued use despite harm and four is the craving.”
The other issue that was discussed was the lack of funding that the crisis is receiving, in particular funding for proper follow up and follow through on the patients after getting them through the 28 day first step process within recovery. Bloom said the overdose death rates remain the top concern
“The numbers were staggering,” he said. “48 out of 100,000, we’re two and a half times the national number, very disturbing.”
Many different solutions were brought up to face the epidemic, including a limit on how someone can get a prescription and for how long. It was also suggested to increase funding in Medicare and Medicaid, which was found to be used by 95 percent of those in treatment facilities. Either way, Bloom says the first step, like solving many problems, is admitting you have one.
“We have to admit we have a problem and the schools have to admit we have a problem and we have to deal with it, and by not dealing with it it’s causing a bigger problem,” he said.
According to the Center for Disease Control, drug overdoses increased approximately 16.9 percent since 2015.