When it comes to issues relating to drugs, particularly opioids, Harrison County is certainly in the mix as part of ground zero. And West Virginia IS ground zero.

 

I don’t bring up what I’m bringing up as an alarm to what’s going on statewide and in our very own communities here in Harrison County and North Central West Virginia. I bring it up as a reminder that it’s not going away and by doing the same thing to attack the problem isn’t going to change things anything anytime soon.

 

On Monday of this week, I received an email talking about a study done by the Web site detox.net. The group explored a study by the Department of Justice that was last updated in October of 2017 to look at states where physician arrests and overdose deaths are the highest.

 

The email stated, “Unfortunately, West Virginia stood out.” Is anyone surprised?

 

Four key points came from the study.

 

You can read more about the study by clicking HERE. I sent a copy to Chief John Walker who, unfortunately, was dealing with the email being down at the time. We talked about the numbers and the findings and he wasn’t surprised.

 

“I believe they’re pretty accurate,” said Walker. “I’d like to say I’m shocked, but everyone in law enforcement is pretty aware of the problems statewide and locally. We’ve actually had it occur right here in Bridgeport and have had an arrest that involved the Harrison County Drug Task Force where we were working with the DEA and other agencies.”

 

As a reminder, that case occurred July 11, 2013 right in the middle of Bridgeport – on Main Street. At that time, Dr. Edita Milan of Fairmont was arrested and charged with the felony offense of Conspiracy to Distribute Schedule II, III, and IV Controlled Substances” as part of maintaining a drug involved premises.

 

In December of 2014 she pled no contest to five counts related to the aforementioned changes. She self-reported to federal prison on July 13, 2015.

 

Walker said a crime like that happening a decade ago seemed almost impossible. Now, it happens with more and more frequency in West Virginia and across the country.

 

“The pendulum has swung so far to the right it’s alarming. At worst years ago, there was a minimal overprescribing that may occur with an opioid, but to see what we have nationwide is something I thought I’d never see,” said Walker.

 

Walker was quick to point out that as alarming as the number of arrests of physicians are nationwide, he said it’s not fair to paint the medical profession with a broad brush.

 

“I have to say most physicians are doing the right thing and always have. At the same time, there are some that struggle when prescribing medicine because of the Hippocratic Oath they take to help those in pain that leads to unintended consequences,” said Walker. “Then, there are those that simply do it for financial gain.”

 

Walker said pain relief isn’t new. He said much of the medication prescribed today for all types of ailments was generally reserved for cancer patients and terminally ill patients.

 

“That’s how I remember it, but I can assure you I’m not a doctor. Yet when you see the alarming number of prescriptions coming from some of these southern pharmacies recently you have to take a hard look and ask yourself if this keeps happening then we’ve got to change how we’re approaching the problem,” said Walker.

 

The southern pharmacies in question were part of national news that broke at the start of the year. One story in the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that “between 2006 and 2016, drug wholesalers shipped 10.2 million hydrocodone pills and 10.6 million oxycodone pills to Tug Valley Pharmacy and Hurley Drug in Williamson, according to Drug Enforcement Administration data obtained by the House Committee.” The article talked about other pharmacies in other cities in West Virginia as well.

 

While that’s a disgusting piece of news that may make you feel sorry for southern West Virginia, Walker said this area is impacted by those actions. He said, as he’s said in the past on other state and area drug issues, thinking that some of those millions of pills aren’t landing on local doorsteps is dangerous and foolish thinking.

 

“Those pills make it here. We know because when we investigate drug crimes we easily see there are no jurisdictional boundaries held. Folks in the southern part of the state are supplying this area with drugs and if there are pills here that can be sold there you can bet that’s happening as well,” Walker continued.

 

And the saddest part? The market is ripe for the drug activity.

 

“Not only are the dealers that get those pills that are prescribed making it to the streets to addicts, but they’re creating new addicts because it’s good for business. Call it what you want, but a drug dealer is running business and the more customers they have the better it is for business,” said Walker. “The worst part of that business is there is no concern for the damage it does to the customer and even less concern if that’s possible for the damage it does to the families and friends of their customers.”

 

Walker said he’d hate to try and put a percentage on the number of calls his department handles that are drug related because he doesn’t have the data at his fingertips. He just knows it’s not a small number like it was a decade or so ago.

 

“A large portion of our complaints and calls are related to drug use and we’re seeing more violent crimes and more felonies, including a lot of domestic calls, because of it,” said Walker. “The addicts often have nowhere to go and end up on the streets and that often leads to crime and some end up at the hospital with addiction issues where they’re out of control when they get there. A lot of this starts as a result of a flood of pills prescribed by the physicians that this study is talking about.”

 

Walker said in the local area, which includes Bridgeport and the region that the Harrison County Violent Crimes and Drug Task Force oversees, the top drug issues are currently opioids and methamphetamines. Those drugs, he said, are followed by heroin.

 

“You have this issue and you have another issue with getting drugs off the internet,” said Walker. “It seems like there’s always a new source out there and as long as there’s a market it will likely continue. It’s just troubling with all the issues out there that you have a few bad doctors that have made things worse. Until we change things, you’ll see more reports like this.”

 

Perhaps that’s the most numbing statistic of all.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Chief John Walker during Monday's Bridgeport City Council meeting, while the second photo from dataforstories.com and detox.net, shows where West Virginia ranks in the latest study. Bottom photo is from the 2013 raid of Dr. Edita Milan's Main Street doctor's office.