CLARKSBURG — A new Drug Enforcement Agency Tactical Diversion Squad will soon be formed in the Clarksburg area to target the prescription drug abuse epidemic.
In announcing the new tactical diversion squad, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she "believes that the prescription drug problem across the state is ransacking us."
"It is ruining lives," Capito said. "The resolution is to work with the DEA to partner with local law enforcement in order to combat this issue."
Bridgeport City Councilman and former DEA Agent Lowell J. “L.J.” Maxey said resolutions approved by the Bridgeport and Clarksburg city councils proposed creation of a DEA Tactical Diversion Squad.
“These (resolutions) made it to Senator Capito, and our efforts are going to facilitate these changes,” Maxey said. “This is surely needed and welcomed by the DEA in Clarksburg and Bridgeport.”
This will be the second diversion squad in West Virginia, which is unusual for smaller states, Capito said.
The senator said she has been working with the DEA to put extra focus on Northern West Virginia.
“What affects Clarksburg affects the country as well,” said Melvin Patterson, staff coordinator at DEA Public Affairs. “The growing drug abuse epidemic is something that needs to be addressed immediately.”
Patterson said Clarksburg residents are going to become better educated about the dangers and risks of opioid use because of the tactical diversion squad.
“Not only will they learn the proper usage of prescription drugs, but also what to look for in teens, kids and other adults in regard to abuse,” Patterson said. “It will empower Clarksburg residents to work hand-in-hand with state and local officials to report irregular activity.”
The squad will work in conjunction with the Harrison County Drug Task Force.
The squad also will work with the medical community, including pain management clinics, waste facilities, hospitals and pharmacies in the area. And it will target doctors and pharmacies that may be over-prescribing medications.
“It will also help state and local law enforcement to train their members to target cases and follow up on leads,” Capito said. “This will be very beneficial when working with local resources.”
Clarksburg City Manager Martin Howe the new tactical diversion squad is in its planning stages and will require input from local law enforcement agencies as to their level of participation and commitment.
"The resolution passed by both Clarksburg and Bridgeport will potentially enable additional personnel and resources to have a direct effect on this local issue," Howe said.
Patterson added that the tactical diversion squad will include DEA agents, investigators and intelligence analysts, as well as group supervisors.
“Depending on experience, members may include those with experience working diversion cases, members assigned immediately out of the academy, or those that apply and transfer from other parts of the country,” Patterson said. “The DEA will also conduct interviews for individuals that qualify.”
Capito said federal funding was secured through the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which she serves.
“We determine funding priorities, and this was one of our main concerns,” she said.
Capito expects the tactical diversion squad to be fully functioning by the end of the year, with noticeable progress likley within the next 90-180 days.
“I anticipate more arrests and the hopeful eradication of prescription drug abuse,” Capito said. “When we conquer this problem, we will not only have to dry up the supply, but also the desire.”
“We have been working with treatment options; however, this is the part that works to get supply under control,” Capito said. “This is the first step to combating the serious prescription drug abuse epidemic in West Virginia.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care providers wrote 249 million prescriptions for painkillers in 2013. In 2014, there were 28,647 deaths from opioids in the United States, with 14,838 of those being prescription opioid overdose.