| DOLLARS MISDIRECTED FROM PROBLEM
By Bob Weaver
If West Virginia were equipped with enough drug rehabilitation and psychiatric services, the three people slain in a murder-suicide near Sissonville might still be alive, says Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne.
Perdue said there are fewer than 300 beds available in the state for long-term substance abuse addicts, with access to those delayed by long waiting lists.
There is a common perception that treatment for alcoholism and drug addiction is readily available.
It is not.
Even basic detox services are not readily available in the Mountain State.
During the 1970s there was a movement to treat alcoholism and drug addiction as a disease, but managed care eliminated most insurance coverage for the problem, reversing "treatment" to short-term medical management.
Treatment is directed toward crisis management, not a continuum of care to deal with protracted withdrawal and obtaining the skills to live a sober and clean life-style.
Treatment for criminal offenders who have an alcohol and drug problem, about 90% of the jail population, is practically unavailable - more often the reason for the lock-up.
We just keep building more jails.
While alcoholism and addiction is most often viewed as a problem striking street people and criminals, the problem is found in virtually every family.
At least 14,000 West Virginians needed drug treatment in 2005 but did not receive it.
Perdue said the combined direct and indirect costs of substance abuse in West Virginia amounts to $1.86 billion a year.
Yet the state lags behind in offering sufficient services and programs for those afflicted, Perdue said.
One way to get the ball rolling on increasing funding for these particular services is by tinkering with legislation appropriating the $44 million in settlement money awarded to the state from a federal OxyContin lawsuit.
Treatment is not a big item on the agenda.
Most drug and alcohol dollars - billions - are spent on drug wars, lock-up, interdiction and prevention, none of which have been effective, but all have a political constituency for their vested interests.
"A lot of the money is being used for enforcement, buying cruisers and building facilities for the State Police," Perdue said. "I don't dispute that. But I believe the problem is so profound that enforcement is just one aspect, and we need to evenly distribute the money to treatment and recovery programs."
Perdue is also sponsoring legislation aimed at combating the state's drug problem. One bill, co-sponsored by Delegate Kelli Sobonya, R-Cabell, places a 5-cent per ounce tax on liquor.
That bill has frequently died in the legislature over the years.
- Weaver is a former certified addictions counselor who helped start several treatment centers, all of which have closed, and was past president of the WV Addiction Counselor's Association.
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