MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) hosted a roundtable discussion with Michael Botticelli, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), at West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown. Senator Capito, Director Botticelli and local drug prevention experts discussed efforts to expand evidence-based public health and public safety approaches to reduce drug use and its consequences.
“West Virginia’s staggering drug statistics are completely unacceptable,” said Senator Capito. “One of my top priorities is to bring more attention and resources to tackle the drug epidemic head on. I invited Director Botticelli to participate in today’s roundtable to discuss ways we can improve drug treatment and prevention programs, and I’m grateful for his valuable insight. I look forward to continuing to work with Director Botticelli and my colleagues in the Senate to end the devastating disease of drug addiction.”
“Senator Capito has been working diligently on this issue and I thank her for her leadership. I am pleased to join so many West Virginia leaders who can work together to stem the consequences of the opioid epidemic. Today’s very productive discussion is an excellent step toward reducing non-medical use of pain medication and West Virginia’s overdose death rate. If we work together to implement evidence-based initiatives, the expected results will follow,” said Director Botticelli.
Today’s roundtable with Director Botticelli comes on the heels of a widely attended drug prevention summit Senator Capito hosted in Martinsburg in April, which revealed the severe lack of in-patient treatment facilities in West Virginia. Michael Gottlieb, National Program Director of ONDCP’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, and Tom Carr, Executive Director of the Washington-Baltimore HIDTA, pledged to complete a needs assessment for an in-patient treatment center in West Virginia at the event.
In addition to convening drug prevention officials for several discussions about combatting drug abuse, Senator Capito is pursuing solutions through legislation. One of Senator Capito’s very first acts in the Senate was introducing the Stop Drugs at the Border Act of 2015 with Senator Donnelly (D-Ind.) to combat increased heroin and methamphetamine trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico Border. She is also a co-sponsor of The FDA Accountability for Public Safety Act and The Opioid Overdose Reduction Act of 2015.
Participants in today’s roundtable hosted by Senator Capito included: Michael Botticelli, Director of the White House Office National Drug Control Policy; Arthur Rizer, Associate Professor, WVU School of Law; Dr. Mark Polak, WVU School of Medicine, Professor and Chief, Section on Neonatology; Dr. Carl Sullivan, WVU Vice Chair & Director, Addiction Programs; Herb Linn, Assistant Director for Outreach, WVU Injury Control Research Center; Ed Preston, Morgantown Police Chief; Marti Shamberger, Morgantown Deputy Mayor; Holly Childs, Morgantown Area Economic Partnership; Dan Kimble, Morgantown Chamber of Commerce; Al Kisner, Monongalia County Sheriff; and Kathy Paxton, Director, West Virginia Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities.