CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office is collaborating with a Boone County native and public health expert to fight opioid abuse.
The ongoing collaboration is between the Attorney General’s Office and Dr. Drema Mace, vice president for community engagement and development at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
“The opioid epidemic is the challenge of our time,” Morrisey said. “Abating this scourge will take everyone working together. Dr. Mace is a West Virginia native with decades of experience in public health. I am pleased to work with Dr. Mace toward our common goal of stopping senseless death from opioid abuse.”
Morrisey
Mace also serves as executive director for the School of Osteopathic Medicine’s Center for Rural and Community Health.
Nearly 1,000 West Virginians lost their lives to a drug overdose in 2018, many of which were opioid related.
Morrisey has made reversing this trend has been a top priority. He has fought the epidemic on multiple fronts, including a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that achieved sweeping reforms to the nation’s drug quota system.
The AG's office also has combated the opioid crisis with civil litigation, broad prevention initiatives for all ages, multistate partnerships, funding to target opioid abuse, criminal prosecutions, new technology and engagement with the faith-based community.