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Actually, you will find that poverty is just as evident in large cities as it is in rural states. And, although drug use is obviously a huge problem, the main problem in our state is inadequate treatment. A person addicted to drugs does not simply flip a switch and stop using. Most lack insurance resources once addicted and they need help from the state which simply is not available.
Traditionally, drug use has been treated as a criminal justice issue but that does not solve it. Large scale sales and distribution is a criminal justice issue. Usage, and small scale sales to support that usage is an issue that needs to be addressed through treatment and community service.
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You're missing THE POINT! Of course you find the poverty in the large cities. The rest of the metro population offsets the drug addiction statistics because the majority of people living in metros aren't doing drugs. That's not due to better treatment. Inner city ghettos is where you find generations of families supporting drug businesses because it's the family income. You can't discount that urban poverty has access to more opportunities to get out of poverty. Rural areas don't have those same opportunities. That's another reason why large metros have a lower rate of drug addiction compared to rural areas.
I know a person addicted to drugs doesn't flip a switch and stop using. I just laid out a detailed plan to STOP kids BEFORE they use the first time. Save the next generations. Put a stop to it that way.
Treatment and community service are important but won't solve the problem alone. Waiting to solve the addiction after it happens is missing the boat. You need to PREVENT the new generation from becoming addicts. That starts with changing the entire communities' view of the drug problem and get EVERYONE involved in solving it----everyone watching out for each other's children, more nonprofits to keep kids busy and out of the corn fields (or whatever the "off the streets" urban scenario is for rural areas), better drug education, better public education overall, along with heavy guidance towards career choices to help children see they have options.
You're missing THE POINT! Of course you find the poverty in the large cities. The rest of the metro population offsets the drug addiction statistics because the majority of people living in metros aren't doing drugs. That's not due to better treatment. Inner city ghettos is where you find generations of families supporting drug businesses because it's the family income. You can't discount that urban poverty has access to more opportunities to get out of poverty. Rural areas don't have those same opportunities. That's another reason why large metros have a lower rate of drug addiction compared to rural areas.
I know a person addicted to drugs doesn't flip a switch and stop using. I just laid out a detailed plan to STOP kids BEFORE they use the first time. Save the next generations. Put a stop to it that way.
Treatment and community service are important but won't solve the problem alone. Waiting to solve the addiction after it happens is missing the boat. You need to PREVENT the new generation from becoming addicts. That starts with changing the entire communities' view of the drug problem and get EVERYONE involved in solving it----everyone watching out for each other's children, more nonprofits to keep kids busy and out of the corn fields (or whatever the "off the streets" urban scenario is for rural areas), better drug education, better public education overall, along with heavy guidance towards career choices to help children see they have options.
You have some great ideas here. At the same time, you are overlooking the obvious. Folks do not simply choose to become addicted to drugs. Some young folks make the wrong choices, that is true. With today's drug problems, it is even more common for people to become addicted because their physicians prescribed pain killers for a serious operation, for recovery from an accident with serious injury, for people recovering from a serious work injury, and for a combination of those factors with dental treatment for major dental issues. Narcotic pain medications are over prescribed, and those who rely on them to deal with intense pain become addicted. Once addicted, they need the drug to even feel normal. And after their injuries heal, or their dental problems heal, they can no longer get prescriptions for the drugs they are now addicted to taking. The addiction then takes over their lives. It even happens to physicians and nurses, and is far more common than one might think.
Our state does next to nothing to help people in that situation, and they often end up turning to illegal means to take care of their incredibly bad addictions because in many ways they have no choice.
Pittsburgh's drugs come from everywhere. Direct pipelines have been busted from Detroit, New Jersey, NYC, directly from Mexico, etc. West Virginia's drugs come from everywhere too. It annoys me to no end when I read about this issue in rural state forums. Everyone is overly focused on where the drugs come from. Go read Vermont's forum. It's even worse because they're playing the blame game. The reality is rural states rank highest in drug addiction because they are, well, rural states. Rural areas all over the country have serious drug problems. The states that have cities with high populations don't rank as high because the city addiction statistics offset the rural areas of those states.
Rural America will continue to have drug problems until they stop blaming the big cities and realize the main problem is people are using drugs. You need to figure out why. There's very little for children and young adults to do with their time. People need to recognize the Norman Rockwell days are over instead of viewing rural America as a wholesome place to raise children. That doesn't mean everyone should live in a large metro area. It means something needs to be done, and blaming the pipeline is wasting precious time.
By far, the biggest reason rural American has drug problems of epidemic proportions is the poverty. Like it or not, the drug business is West Virginia's underground economy. West Virginians with no other job prospects are selling drugs to other West Virginians. It doesn't matter where the drugs are coming from, and there aren't just a few big local drug dealers. There are thousands and thousands of small time drug dealers making a living selling drugs.
For heroin, it all starts with prescription drugs. They're not getting those prescriptions for legitimate illnesses. There are doctors writing bad scripts. All of these people sell pills to other residents to support their own pill habit. Then those addicts start doing the same. Eventually they can't afford the pills. They are super expensive. They need their fix and the heroin pipeline moves right in to scratch that itch. Then everyone who was previously selling pills are now selling heroin to support their habit and themselves. New pill users start selling pills. Some sell both. You'd think the solution to the problem is to stop those doctors who are writing bad scripts. But guess what happens? You cut off the prescription drugs and the addicts turn immediately to heroin.
So, what's the solution? Most importantly stop focusing on where the drugs come from. That's clouding you from seeing the issue clearly. People in big cities don't sit around and blame other big cities for their city's drug problem. They know the user is the problem. If you don't get to the bottom of it, you're going to have multiple generation families supporting this because it's family income. That means it will be very hard to educate minors because their parents are dealers who will encourage their minor children to be part of the business.
You need to figure out a way to supervise children before they take drugs. Not just your own children. All children need to be supervised. Even the children whose parents don't supervise them. You're talking about drugs being sold on the playground in Morgantown. Why weren't adults there? Supervision. Like hawks. You also need many community activities to keep all children busy. Lots of education about drugs. Guidance for future goals that involves being able to earn living wage income.
The kids need to be supervised, educated, and goals for the future. Again, this isn't just about watching out for your own children. For the sake of your own children, the community needs to do this for all children.
I don't disagree with it. Our state needs to step to the plate and offer viable treatment in every community as large as 10,000 people, and they need to adequately fund the existing inpatient facilities in Fairmont and Morgantown to be able to handle the state's recovery needs after detox.
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