Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers:
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Dec. 20
The Journal of Martinsburg on prescription opioid abuse in West Virginia:
The link between abuse of opioid painkillers such as OxyContin and heroin addiction has been obvious for years. Responsible physicians, pharmacists and drug companies have taken steps to curb misuse of pain pills.
But some continue to reap big profits for themselves at enormous cost to patients.
One might have thought law enforcement action against pill mills and lawsuits against reckless drug companies would have deterred them. Apparently not.
Just last week, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey revealed he has filed a lawsuit against a Boone County business, Larry’s Drive-In Pharmacy, over the issue. Morrisey’s office accuses the company of a decade of flooding Boone County with pain pills.
How many? Nearly 10 million doses during 11 years. Boone County has fewer than 25,000 residents.
Now, the state’s Board of Pharmacy plans to ask drug wholesalers to report pharmacies that place orders for quantities of painkillers large enough to raise suspicion.
Should the board receive such reports, it will forward the information to Morrisey’s office.
Two distributors, Cardinal Health and McKesson Corp., already tip the state off to suspicious orders for painkillers.
Thousands of Mountain State residents got hooked on opioid painkillers during a period when many doctors, dentists and pharmacists had been assured by drug companies that the risk of addiction was small. It was not. Some pharmaceutical company officials knew the risk was higher than they admitted.
But now, the danger of addiction to painkillers is clear. So is the potential that, should they be unable to obtain pills such as OxyContin, addicts will turn to heroin.
Rooting out doctors, pharmacies and drug companies that continue to get people hooked, then to feed their habits, needs to be a priority for both the health care establishment and law enforcement in West Virginia. So, good for Morrisey and good for the Board of Pharmacy for stepping up the pressure on the killers.
Online:
https://www.journal-news.net
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Dec. 21
The Register-Herald on West Virginia State Police vacancies:
If top brass at the West Virginia State Patrol are hoping Gov.-elect Jim Justice will fill some of the 51 officer vacancies created via layoffs over the past two years, well, we think they’d have better odds at making a trip to Las Vegas and trying their hand at the roulette table.
Not that the coal baron, basketball coach and self-described marketer-in-chief doesn’t support public safety, but we’re guessing Justice and the new administration are going to focus their energies on the trifecta of boosting a laggard economy, creating jobs and balancing the budget.
Given the continued performance of state revenues, West Virginia is going to end up with a sizable hole in its budget before the fiscal year is up June 30. Through five months, revenues were missing their budget markers by nearly $90 million with - as one state official said - no end in sight to the revenue shortfall.
As such, we don’t see the state legislature adding expense items to a budget that is annually short of chips.
Last year, the State Police cut 29 vacant positions to help the state meet its obligations. This year, there are 22 more vacancies that will go dark.
The troublesome aspect to all of this is the lack of new cadets entering the ranks.
“Our classes are beginning to retire, and people are continuing to leave to take other jobs along the way, and (the positions) aren’t being filled,” said Lt. Michael Baylous, spokesperson for the State Police in Charleston.
Over the next two years, officials believe that as many as 40 State Police officers will retire. Normally, those positions would be filled by freshly minted officers from the State Police Academy. But that well is dry.
“We haven’t had a class since December of 2015,” Sgt. J.K. Cooper of the Beckley detachment told Jessica Farrish of The Register-Herald, “and we’ve had a lot of retirements since then.”
The best the State Police could hope for, we think, is to hold the numbers in their ranks right where they are - or at least within shouting distance - and to move forward with putting together a new class of recruits for cadet schooling.
We are encouraged that troopers in our neck of the woods do not believe the cuts to its statewide staff have affected public safety in our backyard. But additional thinning of the ranks will certainly lead to fewer state roads being patrolled and professional help a little further away when needed in an emergency when, often, every minute counts.
Like the State Police, we, too, will be watching what transpires in the legislature this coming year and we hope lawmakers and budget masters can find some coins between the cushions to train the next generation of State Police officers.
Public safety is not something you want to gamble away.
Online:
https://www.register-herald.com
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Dec. 20
The Herald-Dispatch on smoking during pregnancy:
Our region is known for its poor health choices, but we seem to be making progress on one of the most troubling.
West Virginia health officials recently reported that the percentage of young women smoking during pregnancy has dropped from 28 percent in 2014 to 24 percent in 2016. That is still three times higher than the national rate of 8.4 percent, but it is a significant drop on a health statistic that had remained stubbornly high for years.
West Virginia and Kentucky have the highest smoking rates in the country, with around 30 percent of adults still smoking. Meanwhile, the national rate has dropped considerably to about 16 percent last year.
But ongoing education efforts seem to be making a dent in the problem, especially among younger people. The 2015 Youth Tobacco Survey shows that the percentage of West Virginia high school students that smoke has decreased to 16.2 percent from 38.5 percent in 2000.
That means more young moms have never smoked, but the state also has been targeting those who do with the West Virginia Management of Maternal Smoking (MOMS) Initiative, which includes representatives from a number of state and federal health programs. Young moms-to-be also hear about the dangers of smoking during prenatal health outreach and home visits. There also is more access to smoking cessation clinics.
But making continued progress is a critical health issue, because smoking is not only a long-term health issue for the mother, but it endangers the whole pregnancy.
Smoking can cause problems with the placenta and the baby’s source of nourishment in the womb. Smoking also can cause the baby to be born too soon or to have a low birth weight. It can also contribute to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and other birth defects.
Keep in mind that about half of births in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio are financed by Medicaid. So, the cost of complications and health problems for the mother or child is often a cost for the public as well.
The good news is that focused education and outreach seems to be making a difference, and that bodes well for other efforts to promote healthier lifestyles.
Some of our region’s health problems will take years to improve, but we can make better choices about smoking, drug use, eating and exercise starting today.
Online:
https://www.herald-dispatch.com
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