Parkersburg News and Sentinel - If the human toll is not enough reason for some elected and bureaucratic officials to take seriously the fight against substance abuse and addiction in our state, here is one that might come closer to speaking their language: According to the Center on Budget and Policy, treating and addressing substance…
Health
WCHSTV - A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy said treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year. Read the full article. The report was written by economist Jill Kriesky. The Herald-Dispatch reported it said the state spent that much in 2019 on issues that…
WV News, Martinsburg Journal-News, Keyser Mineral Daily News Tribune - Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy. Read the full article. The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the state spent that much in…
Huntington Herald-Dispatch, Charleston-Gazette - A new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has estimated the addiction epidemic cost the state $11.3 billion in 2019 alone. Read the full article. The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, examines the dollars spent on treating and addressing the diverse array of harms that stem…
Beckley Register-Herald - The state Senate, despite overwhelming evidence and expert testimony from doctors and public health officials begging them to avoid a certain crisis on our streets and back alleys, passed a bill this past week that places greater restrictions on community syringe exchange programs. read the full op-ed. Why? Because of tired and…
For Immediate Release: March 18, 2021Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – For at least the last decade, West Virginia has been at the forefront of the overdose epidemic in the United States. Since 2010, its death rate per 100,000 by overdose of any type of drug has led the nation. Our new report released today both shows…
Read the full report here. Executive Summary There is no doubt to residents and policymakers in West Virginia that the state has a drug epidemic problem that is costly in terms of lives lost annually, as well as expenses incurred for medical and mental health treatment, for law enforcement, and for social services provision. In…
Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - Even though more families are struggling to get enough food as the pandemic continues, hunger-related bills aren’t among the measures rapidly moving through the West Virginia Legislative session. Read the full article. West Virginia was already one of the country’s hungriest states pre-pandemic. And the problem has only gotten worse…
Charleston Gazette-Mail, Huntington Herald-Dispatch - As Kanawha County faces an impending HIV outbreak that could cost billions in taxpayer dollars, the West Virginia Senate’s Health and Human Resources Committee entertained a bill Thursday that would make it more difficult to operate programs proven to slow such diseases and save lives. Read the full article. Senate Bill 334 would…
For Immediate Release: February 27, 2021Contact: Jessie Ice, 304-322-0074 or Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV - Last night’s passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a comprehensive COVID relief bill is an important step forward. This legislation is the kind of action we need in this moment, when the economy is still weak and…