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I recently read that a joint effort of federal, state, and local law enforcement yielded a bust of 41 people involved in a mult-state heroin trafficking network. The drugs originated from one man in Baltimore (shocker) and made their way across i-70 and into WVA, mainly Berkley county. One thing the article pointed out is how, even though Jefferson County is right in the middle, they have avoided the heroin epidemic that has swept through MD, VA, WV, PA and DE. Do any of yall know why? I am planning on leaving MD for Harpers Ferry/Shepherdstown/Charles Town area. The overwhelming majority of the arrested were from Martinsburg area. What is going on up there?
I'm not sure if it's that Jefferson doesn't have a heroin problem or if it's just much more present in Martinsburg due to Martinsburg being a somewhat denser town than any in Jefferson County. To put it bluntly, Martinsburg has a lot of scourge packed into a relatively small area. And not only that, but heroin use tends to spread like an epidemic, so if you have a group of people who are addicted to heroin they're going to pay it forward, causing the epidemic to spread almost as if it's airborn. With Charles Town being much more spread out and having a much smaller downtown area, the issue isn't as concentrated or pronounced. Plus, there's several addiction treatment facilities in Martinsburg, so it's quite possible that heroin addicts in Charles Town would relocate to Martinsburg to have those resources nearby.
These are just theories, of course. It's also quite possible that all this is due to chance. Or it could be as simple as Martinsburg being bisected by I-81, therefore being very accessible and a midpoint between Virginia and Maryland. I don't think there's a singular explanation for Jefferson County's much less pronounced heroin problem, but rather probably several factors at play here. In any case, Jefferson is more rural than Berkeley County and offers a more wholesome locale for those relocating to the area, especially those with families and young children. Jefferson also has a somewhat better education system than Berkeley from what I'm to understand.
Thanks for the insight. Leaving MD for WV is a bigger move than one might assume. All we've ever known is MD, but it's time to get out of here. Just trying to gather as much research as possible. Probably overthinking everything, but that's just the type of guy I am.
There are drugs everywhere, but heroin is a different monster.
I don't want to speak out of turn, but unless you have some very specific reason to relocate specifically to Martinsburg, don't do it. I could probably start in on a very long list of reasons but the topic of this thread probably covers it all and will be sufficient. I would hasten to add that if you are retired, or nearing retirement age, you should take a look at the age demographic here. While there is a concentration of medical facilities here, unless you are so ill as to need to be near a lot of doctors and have a hospital only minutes away, ask yourself if you really want to move into a town that is, to judge by the news and the demographics, full of kids on dope. Might I suggest Jefferson County. As "daneoleary" says, "[t]o put it bluntly, Martinsburg has a lot of scourge packed into a relatively small area." This may actually qualify for understatement of the decade and may be the entire key for understanding the place.
The Martinsburg area has had a drug problem for decades so the reading & hearing about the heroin issue is hardly a surprise. Back in the 70's and early 80s Martinsburg as well as Winchester had a serious cocaine problem so much so as both towns were called "..the coke towns of the Virginias". Of course both towns at the time had denied that there was such a problem at all. Back in 1980 it was easy for the police and city officials just to tell the Martinsburg Journal & Winchester Star newspapers and call up WINC & WEPM and say "..please don't report this !!!"...and they usually wouldn't either even though it was pretty much an open secret in the community. Similar to the problem that the Hagerstown area had with prescription drug abuse back in 1979. I myself know of a nurse who was busted in that sting and she was hardly the only one and YET neither WHAG channel 25 & the Herald-Mail well they totally ignored it. Come to think of it I seem to recall the Charles Town Races had their own drug problem in the 80s involving some of their jockies. My parents knew about it as did many within the business community as well but that too was "overlooked" in the press. I guess in this case it was an issue of money and the fear of losing that important Charles Town Races advertising account if they would report on this.
Today with the internet and social media very difficult nowadays to sweep such problems under the rug.
Thanks for the insight. Leaving MD for WV is a bigger move than one might assume. All we've ever known is MD, but it's time to get out of here. Just trying to gather as much research as possible. Probably overthinking everything, but that's just the type of guy I am.
There are drugs everywhere, but heroin is a different monster.
That's very true, heroin is definitely a horse of a different color. Jefferson County might be preferable for you. Route 340 makes Berryville and Winchester very accessible, while you can also get to Leesburg fairly quickly and even Frederick is only about 20 minutes away via 340 E. You might also consider skipping over West Virginia entirely and looking at Winchester or the more residential Stephens City, but real estate is more expensive in Virginia so there's definitely a tradeoff. Cheaper living in Martinsburg for sure, but there's definitely an argument to be made that it's cheap because no one who's not on drugs would really want to live there. Certainly not the worst place to live, but there are many better alternatives nearby. Just do a little research and look into what each city has to offer you, then choose which is the best for what you want or need.
I will be checking in on this post and am about to make one of my own. We are from MD, lived in upstate NY for the past 11 years, and are looking to move to WV or VA...the very areas you all are bringing up. I'm afraid to make the wrong choice now that we have children. It's different from when it was just us. :-(
Keep in mind, heroin and opioid addiction are a nationwide epidemic, and the worst part of it is that this is most prevalent in the exact areas you might expect to be immune, rural areas and small towns in rural areas.
Berkeley County has a proposal now to start up two different rehabilitation and addiction centers. Just google for "rehab berkeley martinsburg 2015" and you should get lots of coverage, mostly from WHAG.
The local business community and "downtown boosterism" interests seem to be coming down very hard in opposition, but I don't think they are trying to say that the region/county/city doesn't have a need, they just don't want it a stone's-throw away from city center. There seems to be pretty strong support from at least a few of the County Council. The fact is, this would create a lot of jobs, everyone agrees there's a need, and it might tend to provide a semi-separate system or set of systems for handling the huge overflow the corrections system is already seeing with drug-related sentencing.
Additionally, there appear to be some deals on the table where the land and some existing buildings could be picked up very inexpensively. Also, one of the parcels and proposed sites would be operated by the major player in detox/addiction/mental-health in the area. I do not quite understand the details, but just by expanding operations into services for people transitioning out of the corrections system, whose major problems are right in that gray area between the criminal and the medical, you could get a lot of modernization of policy and its application on the one hand, and lots of Federal money on the other hand. Because of changes in law and policy over the last 20 years or so, there is a Federal "money follows the individual" policy, and that money increasingly is unavailable for use in the corrections system. Combine that with the Federal policy that addiction and mental-health must be treated in community settings where possible, and there is immense incentive to go forward with at least one of the proposed rehab facilities and probably with both.
Also in recent news (again, google, and you'll find that WHAG is covering this very diligently) the "four state" law-enforcement community have announced that they will be stepping up efforts as individual agencies and also in a regional interstate cooperation pact. I think they had better build these rehab facilities pretty soon and they'll probably be full from the day after they open.
Here is a little more information on how West Virginia's system works, with some significant contrast with other states, regarding the "Money Follows the Person", also known as "MFP".
It may not be strictly applicable to the present discussion but considering that most states and corrections/addiction establishments consider drug-abuse, addiction, and recovery to be "long-term care". So, with a little wiggle room in the discussion you can see how this might apply to the problems of addiction, recovery, rehabilitation and related matters here in West Virginia.
First, let's point out that one of the proposed rehabs is effectively a "nursing facility" or "NF" as discussed in the study.
Quote:
The statewide capacity of NFs is considered adequate at the present time. At the same time, there is concern about the current distribution of NF beds. There are geographic pockets in West Virginia that could use more NF beds and other areas that appear to have an oversupply. While redistribution of the existing statewide NF capacity may have merit, there are legal issues thatcome into play. NF beds cannot be reallocated geographically because of state statute and a moratorium that has been placed on NF beds since 1987.
Across the United States, policymakers have used the Certificate of Need (CON) process for over 30 years to help direct health care delivery. In comparison with other states, West Virginia’s CON system is fairly restrictive in regulating health care providers’ ability to enter the state’s long term care system. The way in which the CON is administered for NF beds in West Virginia is intended to ensure that there is not overdevelopment of capacity. It unintentionally does not allow for the existing capacity to be appropriately redistributed within the state to better meet the changing demand of residents.
[...]
The challenge is increasing the availability of more community-based services, including assisted living services, for those individuals who are in need of some support in order to continue to live safely in their own homes and who do not qualify for NF care.
In speaking with stakeholders throughout the state, a consistent theme is that West Virginia’s long term care system does not provide an adequate supply of supports to those with specialty care needs. [...]"
Millions of dollars from the 2 different settlements with Purdue Pharma and its executives with WV have went to Medicare, Lawyers, building the WV State Police gymnasium, Day Report Centers and pretty much everyone else except for people it affected in SWV and small Appalachian towns who were tore apart by drugs.
The most successful rehabilitation facilities in WV are the Regional Jail System and the State DOC, because no money has been poured into long term care and those in jail are out of sight, out of mind.
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