CHARLESTON — An eighth-grade student's artwork has won Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's Kids Kick Opioids contest.
Liliona McKenzie Wright's artwork was designed to shed light on opioid abuse and the destruction it can cause. Wright is a student at Rivesville Middle School in Marion County.
“Liliona’s design portrays the grim reality of the opioid epidemic and how opioid abuse can devastate families and end lives," Morrisey said. “Kids Kick Opioids continues to be a great initiative that can help us stop senseless death by getting the message out to young and old alike that drugs can kill. We remain dedicated to attacking the root causes of opioid abuse."
Wright’s design features a drawing of a woman crying, along with prescription pills over her head and text that says, “She was beautiful like a porcelain doll until she picked up the bottle, beauty began to fade as the doll cracked and shattered…"
There were 67 regional winners promoting awareness of opioid abuse with drawings, poems and other designs.
Caitlin Modesitt, an eighth-grader at Ravenswood Middle School, was also recognized as statewide runner-up.
Kids Kick Opioids represents one of many initiatives through which Morrisey has sought to combat West Virginia’s drug overdose death rate, including a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that achieved sweeping reforms to the nation’s drug quota system. The contest has gone on for several years as an attempt to raise awareness.
Morrisey's office has also combated the opioid crisis with civil litigation, multistate initiatives, funding to target opioid abuse, criminal prosecutions, new technology, engagement with the faith-based community and education.
The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy, West Virginia Association of School Nurses and the Capitol Police assisted the Attorney General in judging the contest.
