CHARLESTON – Two leading Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate are hailing President Donald Trump’s plan to fight opioid abuse.
“President Trump's initiative is a significant step forward and one that reinforces our call for broad cooperation within government toward a holistic solution that attacks opioid abuse from a supply, a demand and an educational perspective,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. “The President's leadership on this issue is imperative as there are some resources that only the federal government can bring to bear, such as funding for treatment and long-needed reforms to national drug policy, including my effort to fix DEA’s broken drug quota system.”
Morrisey said his office already has been working on some of what Trump wants to be done.
“The President's push for strong enforcement will compliment aggressive actions already taken by our office to ensure accountability up and down the pharmaceutical supply chain,” he said. “The President's call to reduce demand and over-prescription reinforces our efforts to raise public awareness and educate every age group as to the dangers of opioid painkillers.
“We must empower patients to consider non-opioid pain management techniques, as well as encourage prescribers and dispensers to implement best practices as already set forth by our office.”
U.S. Representative Evan Jenkins also hailed Trump’s plan.
“I welcome the president’s announcement of new actions and priorities to address the opioid crisis, which has devastated communities and families in West Virginia,” he said. “The president has proposed a bold stance against the worst drug traffickers in our communities, sending a clear message to dealers who knowingly traffic large quantities of deadly drugs.
“In Huntington, we’ve seen dealers from Detroit coming to our city to sell drugs laced with fentanyl and carfentanyl – elephant tranquilizer – resulting in dozens of overdoses in a matter of hours. We must reclaim our communities and stop traffickers in death from profiting off addiction.”
Trump’s plan, which he discussed March 19 in New Hampshire, includes stiffer penalties for high-intensity drug traffickers, including the death penalty for some. Congress recently set aside $6 billion to combat the opioid epidemic.
The plan includes a three-prong approach: Law enforcement and interdiction, prevention and education through a sizable advertising campaign, improving the ability to fund treatment through the federal government, and help those impacted by the epidemic find jobs while fighting addiction.
Jenkins said he is glad to see Trump’s initiative embraces prescription drug monitoring programs.
“I have introduced legislation to make sure every state monitoring program talks with all the other states in real time,” Jenkins said. “These programs can help prevent overprescribing and doctor shopping – two activities that fuel the drug crisis.
“I urge Congress to act quickly to provide the funding and support necessary to make a full 50-state integrated prescription drug monitoring program a reality.”
Jenkins said illegal drugs continue to be a problem.
“Many of the illegal drugs flooding communities in West Virginia are coming in from other countries,” he said. “We must secure our southern border by building the wall, and I helped fund President Trump’s request for $1.6 billion for the first phase of the wall.
“I’ve also introduced legislation to create a fentanyl trafficking task force, which would strengthen the president’s goal of working with China and Mexico to stop the trafficking of heroin and fentanyl.”
Jenkins also said there needs to be more research on non-addictive pain management and treatment options for people seeking recovery.
“I recently brought leaders from the National Institutes of Health to Marshall University to see our research into pain treatment alternatives, and initiatives like this can help lead to pain management options that don’t rely on opioids,” Jenkins said. “I also support increased funding and flexibility for coverage of in-patient treatment and expansion of treatment beds to meet a critical need in our state.
“By working together, we can make a difference and help West Virginians reclaim their lives. I will continue to support our president in this fight for the very heart and soul of our state and country.”
Jenkins said his Prescription Drug Monitoring Act would focus federal resources on improving the state monitoring programs’ effectiveness. States would provide access to their prescription drug monitoring program data to other states, prescribers would check the database before prescribing powerful medications such as opioids, and pharmacies would submit prescribing information within 24 hours.
Jenkins also said the states most affected should get the bulk of the federal opioid funding.
On March 19, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration announced West Virginia will be receiving $330,000 in additional funding, as our state has the highest overdose death rate in the nation. This supplemental funding was needed because the formula for funding under the 21st Century Cures Act sent large amounts of funding to populous states, while states most impacted saw smaller amounts and had unmet needs.
“I appreciate and welcome this additional funding to help our state combat the drug crisis," Jenkins said. "Federal agencies must prioritize aid to the states struggling the most, and West Virginia must be at the very top of the list.
President Trump unveiled his opioid response plan this week, and it is time for Congress to pass my legislation to make sure that West Virginia and other states hardest hit by the drug crisis get the resources they need to truly make an impact in combating this epidemic. We must to everything possible to help people in need find recovery and stop the flood of opioids and other drugs into our communities."
The 21st Century Cures Act, bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2016, included $1 billion in funding to address the drug crisis. In distributing these funds, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration relied on a funding formula that benefited states with larger populations.
The Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act, introduced by Jenkins and Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), would make clear that per capita overdose deaths should be a part of the formula used to distribute 21st Century Cures Act funding. The introduction of this bill followed an announcement by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and SAMHSA that there would be no change in the funding formula for the distribution of opioid State Targeted Response grants.
Morrisey and Jenkins, currently representing West Virginia's Third District, will face Republican primary competition from former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, former coal miner Bo Copley from Delbarton, Martinsburg businessman Tom Willis and Weirton truck driver Jack Newbrough. Manchin will be challenged in the Democratic primary by Raleigh County environmental activist Paula Jean Swearengin. West Virginia’s primary election is May 8.