HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — State Attorney Generals from West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky are coming together to fight the drug epidemic.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear were all on the same stage Thursday at New Life Church in Huntington for a conference entitled, “Taking Back Our Communities: Combating the Opiate Epidemic.”
Morrisey said the problems in Huntington also exist in neighboring states.
“The more we can come together and put politics aside and focus on what’s actually going to dramatically reduce the substance abuse epidemic, we have to do that,” Morrisey said.
West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, Morrisey said, and that joining forces will help change that.
“In order to effectuate that change, you have to work collaboratively with people in Kentucky, in Ohio and other border states,” he said. “There may be some things that they’re doing that’s very effective that we can copy or vice versa. This needs to be a team approach.”
Thursday’s meeting included law enforcement, counselors, educators, health officials and faith-based groups. They discussed treatment, prevention and education.
According to a news release, “Recently mixed heroin was related to more than 28 overdoes in Louisville in just one day and 27 overdoes in a 24-hour period in Huntington. Over the course of six days, Cincinnati reported 174 heroin-related overdoses.”