In 2017, West Virginia Legislators passed House Bill 2620, the West Virginia Drug Control Policy Act, creating the Office of Drug Control Policy within the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. The purpose of this policy is to improve drug overdose surveillance and help strengthen the response. The policy enacted the creation of a central repository that stores drug overdose information, making drug overdoses a notifiable condition and placing limits on opioid prescribing. This proposal builds upon West Virginia’s efforts to access complete and timely data while providing support to state and community professionals to inform the scope of the epidemic and assist in targeting prevention and response efforts.
(1) Develop a strategic plan to reduce the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse and smoking by at least ten percent by July 1, 2018;
(2) Monitor, coordinate and oversee the collection of data and issues related to drug, alcohol and tobacco access, substance use disorder policies and smoking cessation and prevention and their impact on state and local programs;
(3) Make policy recommendations to executive branch agencies that work with alcohol and substance use disorder issues, and smoking cessation and prevention to ensure the greatest efficiency and consistency in practices will be applied to all efforts undertaken by the administration;
(4) Identify existing resources and prevention activities in each community that advocate or implement emerging best practice and evidence-based programs for the full substance use disorder continuum of drug and alcohol abuse education and prevention, including smoking cessation or prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery;
(5) Encourage coordination among public and private, state and local, agencies, organizations and service providers and monitor related programs;
(6) Act as the referral source of information, using existing information clearinghouse resources within the Department of Health and Human Resources, relating to emerging best practice and evidence-based substance use disorder prevention, cessation, treatment and recovery programs, and youth tobacco access, smoking cessation and prevention. The Office of Drug Control Policy will identify gaps in information referral sources;
(7) Apply for grant opportunities for existing programs;
(8) Observe programs in other states;
(9) Make recommendations and provide training, technical assistance and consultation to local service providers;
(10) Review existing research on programs related to substance use disorder prevention and treatment and smoking cessation and prevention and provide for an examination of the prescribing and treatment history, including court-ordered treatment or treatment within the criminal justice system, of persons in the state who suffered fatal or nonfatal opiate overdoses;
(11) Establish a mechanism to coordinate the distribution of funds to support any local prevention, treatment and education program based on the strategic plan that could encourage smoking cessation and prevention through efficient, effective and research-based strategies;
(12) Establish a mechanism to coordinate the distribution of funds to support a local program based on the strategic plan that could encourage substance use prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery through efficient, effective and research-based strategies;
(13) Oversee a school-based initiative that links schools with community-based agencies and health departments to implement school-based antidrug and anti-tobacco programs;
(14) Coordinate media campaigns designed to demonstrate the negative impact of substance use disorder, smoking and the increased risk of tobacco addiction and the development of other diseases;
(15) Review Drug Enforcement Agency and the West Virginia scheduling of controlled substances and recommend changes that should be made based on data analysis;
(16) Develop recommendations to improve communication between health care providers and their patients about the risks and benefits of opioid therapy for acute pain, improve the safety and effectiveness of pain treatment and reduce the risks associated with long-term opioid therapy, including opioid use disorder and overdose;
(17) Develop and implement a program, in accordance with the provisions of section three of this article, to collect data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses, caused by abuse and misuse of prescription and illicit drugs from law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, health care facilities and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner;
(18) Develop and implement a program that requires the collection of data on the dispensing and use of an opioid antagonist from law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, health care facilities, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and other entities as required by the office;
(19) Develop a program that provides assessment of persons who have been administered an opioid antagonist; and
(20) Report semi-annually to the Joint Committee on Health on the status of the Office of Drug Control Policy.