CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Many states have to pull their resources together to begin the fight against substance abuse, but West Virginia is already doing that, according to an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
“They have to pull all these people together, start coalitions, but here, that’s not a thing that we have to do because it’s already in place,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Karl Colder. “There’s so much going on here in West Virginia — it’s unbelievable.”
The DEA unveiled its 360 Strategy last week for the Charleston-Huntington area. The strategy uses existing community efforts and education to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic.
“This 360 model is something that’s implanted and can stay for years to come and that’s what we have to do. We have to stay on top of the problem,” Colder said.
West Virginia has become the “epicenter” for drug trafficking between states like Ohio and Kentucky, Colder said.
“You have so many avenues into West Virginia. If we could just stop the demand along with helping out through enforcement, prevention and education, then that’s what we need to do,” he said.
Using illegal drugs is a crime, Colder said, and should be treated as one.
“We’re going to go as a law enforcement agency and train our law enforcement partners on how to handle these overdose scenes as crime scenes,” he said.
The initiative attacks the epidemic through diversion control, law enforcement and community outreach. The strategy is only in place for a few U.S. cities.
A community-wide meeting is scheduled for sometime in May to discuss the 360 Strategy.