drug epidemic
Service providers have ideas on how WV’s $1 billion in opioid settlement money should be spent
Over the next few years West Virginia is set to receive a record $1 billion in opioid settlement funds that are meant to help quell the ongoing drug and overdose epidemic, but for those who work with people who use drugs and those in recovery, questions remain on the best use of that money. The […]
States stiffen penalties for fentanyl, despite public health concerns
As they struggle to reduce drug overdose deaths, policymakers across the United States are embroiled in a heated debate over creating and increasing criminal penalties related to fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that’s up to 100 times more potent than morphine. Legislators pushing the new wave of criminal penalties say the laws will deter drug […]
Kanawha County HIV rates decline for the first time since 2018
For the first time since 2021 — when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dubbed Kanawha County as home to “the most concerning” HIV outbreak in the nation tied to injected drug use — Dr. Christine Teague is feeling encouraged. Teague, who runs the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at Charleston Area Medical Center, said […]