Senate Considers Millions in Funding for Drug Programs

BLUEFIELD — A bill that would help fight the growing drug problem in West Virginia and around the country is being considered in the U.S. Senate.

Co-sponsored by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act authorizes the appropriation of $312 million over the 2016-2021 period for various federal programs.

It would also authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award as much as $413 million in grants over the 2017 to 2021 period through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Capito said Wednesday a “comprehensive fix” for the problem must be found or “we may lose a whole generation.”

“With our state leading the nation in drug-related overdose deaths — more than twice the national average — our communities are grappling with the seriousness and pain of addiction,” she said. “Sadly, drug addiction is a disease that knows no boundaries. Our friends, loved ones and neighbors have all been affected.”

She said 79 drug addicted babies were born last year in the state, adding that in West Virginia, the number of babies born exposed to opioids during pregnancy are approximately three times the national average.

“It’s just so sad,” she said. “I don’t think any family is untouched by this.”

Capito said the reasons for the drug epidemic are many, and include the lack of employment opportunities in the state that can create a “cycle of despair,” leaving people looking for an outlet.

The availability of drugs is also an issue, she said, from cheap heroin on the market to prescription drugs that are often overprescribed and found in medicine cabinets of the elderly.

“The heroin issue is going to a cheaper kind of experience,” she said. “It’s less pricey and more toxic, often laced with fentanyl (a potent synthetic opioid).”

While part of the bill will help with programs such as drug “take-back days,”  providing a safe place to dispose of unused, expired or unwanted medications, the main focus is expanding prevention and education efforts, and promoting resources for treatment and recovery.

It also includes reforms to help law enforcement respond to the drug epidemic and supports long-term recovery programs.

Capito said the legislation also expands the availability of naloxone, a life-saving drug that helps to reverse overdose.

“We are in the middle of considering this bill and it is very bipartisan,” she said. “This is a huge problem.”

Mercer County, which is one of 19 “high intensity drug trafficking” counties in the state, would benefit, she said, pointing out the Community Connections program in the county that already deals with the problem.

“That’s the kind of program that would get additional funding through this bill,” she said.

Capito pointed to a successful program in Jackson County that illustrates the importance of facing the issue as a community problem.

“Everybody really got on the same page there,” she said, tackling the problem with community resources, including education, public health officers, local Boy Scouts and a community action group.

As a state hit hard by the epidemic, “we are in a position to lead by example, continuing our work at the federal, state and local levels to end the scourge of addiction,” she said. “Throughout West Virginia, efforts are under way that should give us optimism. It will not be easy, but we can overcome this drug epidemic.”

Capito has also introduced amendments to this bill and other legislation to tackle several aspects of the problem.

They include restrictions on the amount of opioids that can be prescribed and protocols for prescribing them.

“Too many stories of addiction start with patients taking prescription painkillers after suffering an injury or undergoing surgery,” she said. “Implementing clear guidelines for prescribing opioids for these incidents will help prevent future cases of drug abuse and addiction.”

She said 70 percent of prescription drugs that are used illegally are obtained from family or friends.

Another is the bipartison Cradle Act, which helps protect and treat those babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome as well as their mothers, who are battling addiction.

Capito had high praise for Lily’s Place, a Huntington facility that cares for babies born drug-exposed, providing care that, she says, is less expensive than neonatal units.

The Omnibus Appropriations bill that passed last December had funding to expand prevention efforts, including improved data collection and new treatment services, and training for our service members who are battling addiction as well as the first responders who are responding to drug overdoses.

“For those of us who are actively engaged in efforts to curb this epidemic, we must keep fighting,” she said. “By taking a broad and balanced approach to address this growing crisis, we can save lives and make meaningful strides toward a drug-free West Virginia.”