Fighting the drug epidemic and reversing its deadly
consequences are some of the most important challenges
we face in the Mountain State. That is why I’m pushing
a best practices initiative that will help West Virginia
reduce its use of opioid painkillers by at least 25 percent.
The statistics are ominous and demand an
aggressive response.
West Virginia tallied the nation’s highest drug
overdose death rate in 2014 at 35.5 deaths per 100,000
people. That’s more than double the national average
and depicts a trend that continued into 2015, when the
state recorded an estimated 686 drug overdose deaths,
including 598 opiate-related fatal overdoses.
Best
Practices
Represent
Best Chance
to Reduce
Painkiller
Abuse in West
Virginia
But beyond those staggering numbers are the human
faces of substance abuse.
Every West Virginian knows a face of substance
abuse. Whether that person is a family member, friend,
neighbor or colleague, his or her battle should drive each
of us to action.
My office is committed to winning this fight.
However, we need a different approach than what the
State has seen in the past – quite frankly, we have to
tackle this epidemic holistically from a supply, demand
and educational perspective.
A multi-disciplined approach is crucial to eradicating
both the demand and supply of opioid prescription drugs.
It is my hope that our recently unveiled best practices
initiative and other aggressive actions can reduce West
Virginia’s use of opioid painkillers by at least 25 percent.
Our goal is simple – help patients experience the relief
they need without the risk of becoming addicted to a
drug that shares many characteristics with heroin.
Through emphasis of best practices, we seek to
dramatically reduce the use of opioids as a firstline therapy in pain treatment. This means we must
significantly increase use of non-opioid alternatives and
empower patients to question the necessity of any opioid
prescription they receive.
The draft initiative offers recommendations
for prescribers and pharmacists to reduce misuse,
22 West Virginia Farm Bureau News