MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University hosted “Focus on Fentanyl: West Virginia’s Response to the Deadliest Drug” at the Gluck Theater on the Morgantown campus Thursday.
Speaker of the House of Delegates, Roger Hanshaw, attended and participated in opening remarks to highlight how important this battle is to the economic momentum in the state. The state is making gains in so many areas, but this epidemic could get in the way of sustained progress, according to Hanshaw.
“The one hurdle we have to cross is the workforce,” Hanshaw said. “And we have so many West Virginians now who are victims of substance abuse.”
For the last 10 months, the Mountaineer Fentanyl Education Task Force, co-chaired by WVU senior Political Science major Azeem Khan, has participated in email campaigns and met with students and families when possible. Khan said he and his group of fellow students have taken it upon themselves to help each other with things like the “One Pill Can Kill” initiative.
“We met students where they are, visiting classrooms and tabling in spaces that are popular on campus, and working with partners in the community and the university administration to educate Mountaineers,” Khan said.
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia and task force co-chair, William Ihlenfeld, said law enforcement continues to work aggressively with some success. Ihlenfeld said part of the purpose of this event was to open up playbooks and share best practices in an attempt to close ranks against the drug.
“We’re working hard, we’re pushing back. We’re not just letting the cartels run us over, instead, we’re pushing back against the threat, and we’re also sharing ideas and programs that are successful across the state,” Ihlenfeld said.
During his remarks, Ihlenfeld said the data shows most students are safe and have understood the danger. Because of that student response, they focus on and work to expand the influence of those groups on and off campus.
“That’s something that should give us all some hope that most students don’t use, most students are intervening, most students don’t approve of their peers using these types of drugs, and we want to improve those numbers,” Ihlenfeld said.
For Khan, the work does not stop, only the ideas for reaching students change.
Khan, recently named the 26th Truman Scholar from WVU, said his work will include sharing their methods and looking at fresh ideas for upcoming classes.
“Meet with and talk with peer institutions to share with them lessons that we’ve learned and also maybe some things we can learn from them,” Khan said. “So, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and get better at it.”