Drugs are killing so many people in West Virginia that the state cant keep up with the funerals

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Deaths in West Virginia have overwhelmed a state program providing burial assistance for needy families for at least the fifth year in a row, causing the program to be nearly out of money four months before the end of the fiscal year, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR). Funeral directors in West Virginia say the state's drug overdose epidemic, the worst in the nation, is partly to blame.

West Virginia's indigent burial program, which budgets about $2 million a year for funeral financial assistance, had already been under pressure from the aging of the baby-boom generation. The program offers an average of $1,250 to help cover funeral expenses for families who can't otherwise afford them.

In the current fiscal year ending June 30, "1,508 burials have been submitted for payment through the Indigent Burial Program,” according to Allison Adler, a spokesman for state DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch. “There are funds remaining for 63 additional burials.”

The program has been around for decades, according to Adler, but only began running out of funds starting in 2013. In 2014, the program ran out of money in June. By 2015, the program's budget was depleted by March, similar to where it stands this year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/analysis-drugs-are-killing-so-many-people-in-west-virginia-that-the-state-can%e2%80%99t-keep-up-with-the-funerals/ar-AAnYKBM?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

But Jeff Sessions wants to go after legal pot.

[dalton99a]

1. And many more will die under the GOP plan.

[Initech]

10. And West Virginia will keep voting republican because... reasons.

I swear we're in an abusive relationship with these assholes. We can't get them out of power because they keep abusing it.

[democrank]

2. Thank you so much for posting this.

Wish I could remember where I saw it, but just this weekend I listened to a news segment about the unbelievable number of opiates shipped to West Virginia each year. I was stunned. What an overwhelming problem this is.

MSNBC will air a town hall from West Virginia Monday night, and I'm hoping drug addiction is part of the discussion.

[ProudLib72]

3. Let me get this straight.

ACA is nanny state, but when you can't dig your own damned grave, you have to get the government to do it for you?

[raccoon]

5. A-fricking-men! nt

[WinkyDink]

4. Trying to care here...... Nope, fail. (Oh, I am QUITE aware of how inhumane, how evil, how...unDemo-

cratic that sounds and is.

But you know, West, by God, Virginia comprises the worst of Republican voters: the ones who collect Black Lung payments, Unemployment Insurance, and Social Security checks; and who use Medicare and Medicaid-----

AND *%^$%&& HATE THE PARTY THAT GAVE THEM ALL OF THOSE BENEFITS AND ENTITLEMENTS.)

[Blue_true]

16. It is sad. Our party fight for those people to have decent lives and they spit in our faces. nt

[Dorian Gray]

56. You know...

there were a number of Democratic voters in West Virginia too. And they are all human beings. And they are suffering.

But fuck them all. Bc a lot voted for Trump.

[WinkyDink]

61. Oh, is my post the very first one you've read that contains a generalization? My, my! You need to

get out more.

(And by "get out more" I mean: Read the rest of this one thread. But I see you've replied to no-one else. Like #7 and #8.)

[SammyWinstonJack]

67. +1000000!

[NurseJackie]

6. So, they won't be voting for Trump again, right? (Every cloud has a silver lining.)

[58Sunliner]

7. Trying to care also, but having a hard time.

9 million pills shipped to one pharmacy in 2 years time. Oxy and hydrocodone.

[Bear Creek]

26. Problem

This is a manufactured problem. The tri state area was the test market for Oxy. The states sued over the pills being overly addictive. It has been talked about how so many of these pills can be here. The manufacturers pumped in more, a pharmacy would max out the amount allowed and then would build another CVS, Walgreens et cetra so they can increase the amount available in the area. I always wondered wouldn't they make more money by selling the pills on the street? Now the states are going back and sueing over the manufacturers flooding the area with the pills.

[yeoman6987]

38. They need to put serious restrictions on these drugs

Maybe 5 at a time. 10 for the month. We're way past simple solutions. May as well use those regulations for the country.

[Lucinda]

40. 10 would be about 2 and a half days for chronic pain sufferers. n/t

[Crunchy Frog]

41. They have.

These news reports about the area being flooded with pills are from several years ago. Most of the OD deaths now are from heroin and illegally manufactured fentanyl. Meanwhile, suicide rates are rising for people with chronic pain, and even cancer patients often can't get adequate pain management.

[Bear Creek]

62. Trauma clinic

Would have an appointment then would be given just enough to the next appointment. The problem came when trying to get off of them. The person in my family just about died in an automobile wreck.

[58Sunliner]

58. Isn't this overseen by the state?

My understanding is that they have to account for their stock. Makes me wonder if someone got paid. I know it can be difficult to prescribe pain meds and especially timed-release ones at that. Especially with the potential for abuse and a general lack of education and understanding.

[Warpy]

52. It's insane to prescribe oxycontin or any other long acting drug

to anyone who isn't on his way out with a disease process causing serious pain. Patients can titrate short acting drugs for relief but those long acting drugs are best at producing a rapid dependency wherein the drugs don't work well any more and the dosage has to be increased and if the doctor tries to wean them down, they go into withdrawal and think they're going to die.

I say that as a chronic pain patient for 25 years who has kept a stable dose by not expecting 24/7 pain relief. I also say it as a retired RN who knows these drugs well, personally and professionally.

The marketing of OxyContin is a national disgrace. Now we're left to pick up the pieces and try to help those that aren't dead yet heal their shattered lives.

[LOL Lib]

8. Sorry all out of fucks to give.

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[GWC58]

50. Look into my eyes!

See any brown? No!?! You won't! It's callled "givashits," and you'll find none!

[milestogo]

9. Nevertheless, the GOP healthcare plan will spend nothing on treatment and recovery.

[greymattermom]

11. and drugs will come in from China

containing highly potent opiates that will kill a lot of folks.

[The Big Ragu]

12. Ever wonder if it's all part of a plan?

[moondust]

13. This plan?

Yep.

[dalton99a]

14. Cancer does not give a quick death.

Neither does diabetes, etc.

[moondust]

15. That's where the opioids come in.

The whole mess is likely to get worse due to the intended and unintended consequences of Republicans screwing people in all sorts of ways so the wealthy can have tax cuts.

[Nevernose]

18. The opiates are 100% Mexican

Apparently it's both easier to grow and easier to hide than pot, easier to smuggle, and more lucrative.

The deadliest synthetics -- fentanyl -- are mostly made in American factories.

[blue neen]

19. That is not really the case:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/01/20/lethal-opioids-china-united-states-postal-service/96831328/

[Nevernose]

24. That's kind of overhyped

They're not really prevalent, although they do exist. They're quasi-legal, and if you'd like to know way too much, spend an afternoon browsing Reddit's research chemical forums. IMO, overhyped.

The fentanyl seems to be the primary replacement of choice, and is usually either diverted from legitimate prescriptions or skimmed off the top of batches made by small, legal pharmaceutical companies here.

And now that I think about it, fentanyl could probably be made by any chemistry grad student with access to a lab, and it's not like meth: a few grams of pure stuff would be enough for hundreds or even thousands of doses.

[JI7]

17. why do they blame obama ?

[Calculating]

20. Note to Jeff Sessions

This is an actual issue worthy of your attention. Quit bitching about legal marijuana businesses.

[GWC58]

37. How, how, how

is that man, instead of cracking down on "State legal cannabis businesses, not working on his resignation speech? 😤🤔

[KittyWampus]

21. Why are Red states so bad with the opioids, I wonder. Kentucky and Alabama...

[ileus]

29. For WV it's layoffs from coal, and easy disability.

My DW dismisses a few dozen WV patients a month that come to her boarder clinic because they've exhausted all the clinics in WV.

Most all are on disability or seeking disability and pain pills.

She's gave dozens of inservices, invited LEO's to speak to her providers about giving out pills to patients that drive 50 miles or more, and pass dozens of clinics to come to her clinic.

Of course there are large numbers of Virginians also...as everyone knows it's not just WV but the entire South where there just aren't any jobs for people anymore.

[adigal]

31. Iowa. NY Times story today. Nt

[BannonsLiver]

34. Ever been to any of those places?

If so that should answer your question.

[Go Vols]

44. Why was Blue Calif.

crack/meth capital back in the '80s?

Puzzles me how people go from sugar to shit so fast doing any of them,anywhere.

[JI7]

45. it wasn't blue back then

[Warren DeMontague]

22. I'm sure throwing some Colorado pot smokers in Federal Prison will solve it.

[GWC58]

51. And while there, on their own dime,

forced rehab!

[superpatriotman]

23. The streets of WV need to be flooded with Kratom

Stat.

[Motownman78]

36. Make Suboxone OTC

Opioid epidemic solved for the most part. 90% of people are dependent on pain pills because of the physical dependency if you take them long enough. Suboxone greatly helps with that. So much that Suboxone now has its own black market and is sold on the streets.

[Crunchy Frog]

42. I have a nephew who is a Suboxone addict.

It is not a benign substance, and is extremely addictive, as well as the fact that it is itself an opioid. Treating it like a panacea, and handing it out like candy is opening up a whole new can of worms.

Kratom is much safer and less addictive.

[Motownman78]

47. Kratom does nothing

as I tried it to get off Heroin. And as I responded to you earlier, Suboxone does create a dependency, but at least you cannot OD from it. And as an added benefit, the buprenorphine in it is used as a pain-killer in Europe so those that need pain relief can still get it without having to take Oxy/Fentanyl.

[Crunchy Frog]

48. It didn't work for you, but there are plenty of people that it does work for.

Both for pain management, and for getting off of more addictive substances.

I'm glad the Suboxone helped you, but please don't try to sell it as a cure-all. It isn't one, and it definitely has its own set of problems.

[TheFrenchRazor]

25. opioid related deaths just passed car crashes, but nobody is freaking out about car crashes;

i'm sorry, i refuse to be in a state of hysteria over this "crisis." yes, any preventable deaths are unfortunate, but i am not going to lose all rational perspective over this, and add to a hysteria that only makes it much harder for people who need pain relief to get it. suffering for years on end with chronic pain is just as bad or worse than the ODs.

[BannonsLiver]

35. In most cases the deaths in these states are from recreational use

[Motownman78]

39. Than make Suboxone

which is opiate blocker OTC. It has saved countless lives and cannot be used to get high, but it is horribly expensive ($700 a month)

[Crunchy Frog]

43. It's a partial opioid agonist, and an opioid in its own right. Not an opiate blocker.

That would be Naloxone and naltrexone. Suboxone is highly addictive in its own right, and yes, it can be used to get high.

[Motownman78]

46. Suboxone has Naloxone

actually. Yes, you can gain a physical dependency to it as well, but at least you can't die from an OD.

[Crunchy Frog]

49. My understanding is that the Naloxone is not absorbed when Suboxone is used as intended.

It will supposedly block the effects if you try to inject it. It may not be all that effective, though, since the buprenorphine has such a strong affinity for the opioid receptors. I do know that some people do inject it, and that my nephew has injected it before.

It is true that you're unlikely to fatally OD on it. If you become physically dependent on it, and then lose access to your source, you will be really fucked.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

27. Thanks Joe Manchin!

Because he deserves it for being such an asshole always siding with the Republicans.

[shenmue]

28. ...

[GWC58]

32. That asshole is trying

to save his seat. Sorry, but they want a real Rethug, not a phony one. You have a (D) behind your name.

[adigal]

30. Just like that Iowan farmer whose three kids are opioid addicts, two dead

Voted for Trump. Thinks he will be tough. Didn't think much about the loss of healthcare, rehab services. Shame.

[EffieBlack]

33. Funny how drug problems in inner cities are a criminal and moral issue but in rural WVa

it's a health crisis ...

Actually, it's not funny at all. Just telling.

[JI7]

54. yup, how would people respond if this was some inner city or any place with mostly black/brown

people ?????????

[democrank]

55. I've heard mayors, governors, other leaders and concerned citizens

speak of this national addiction problem.

Addiction is being discussed here in northern New England by citizens, police departments, school officials, church leaders, health agencies and others and is frequently part of our local news.


We have to find a solution for this national problem, because no matter the person's
color or location, the devastating results are the same.

[EffieBlack]

60. Yes, but when crack and heroin were plaguing black, brown and urban commuunities

It was not a "national addiction problem." It was a "criminal" and "thug" and "moral" problem and the only "national conversation" it prompted was a discussion how and why it justified the "War on Drugs."

Race and location DO matter.

[democrank]

64. Just a couple of years ago, my state of Vermont was #1 in the nation

for heroine addiction. It's not a black or brown or white problem, it's a national problem that we must all work together to resolve.

Vermonters have acknowledged this problem (heroine, crack, opiates, etc.) and we're working hard to find answers.

[JI7]

66. her point is about how people react to it

And the difference when it's minorities v whites.

[coco22]

65. The same as they have for decades..

They think its good for them,. They have used them as an example so that whites an others have someone to look down on, they tell them it is natural.

Now,that they see it in their areas its an epidemic. Nothing to see move on.

[democratisphere]

53. Backwards backwoods Sessions is absolutely clueless about most things.

Complete incompetence courtesy of drumpf.

[HoneyBadger]

57. According to the CDC, the top 3 causes of death in WV

Are cancer, heart disease and chronic lower respiratory disease, not opiates, not meth, not whatever illegal drug boogeyman the media is focusing on this morning. Cue tobacco smoking commercial. I consider smoking cigarettes to be suicide. So suicide is the main issue in WV.

[Mariana]

63. The hysteria is getting on my nerves.

From December 2015:

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/life/20151228/alcohol-death-rates-on-the-rise

So more people in WV can drink themselves to death and it's not a crisis. No one really gives a fuck. By the way, I wonder how many of the deaths from opioid use also involved alcohol? Combining those two drugs is particularly deadly.

[mainer]

59. But those gosh-durn immigrants are ruinin' our culture!

How can we re-build our glorious civilization when those foreign babies keep showing us up?