Substance Abuse Costly to WV's Criminal Justice System

More than $330 million of WV’s criminal justice system budget was consumed to address alcohol and drug involved offenses in 2008, according to a new report released this month by the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being.

“The Financial Burden of Substance Abuse in West Virginia: The Criminal Justice System” -- available at www.PrevNET.org -- provides trends in the estimate of the cost of drug and alcohol use in the criminal justice system from 2005 to 2008. The West Virginia criminal justice system includes the Regional Jail Authority, Division of Corrections, Parole Board, Prosecuting Attorneys Institute, Public Defender Program, Law Enforcement, the Judicial System, and Division of Juvenile Services.

“The cost of drug and alcohol use is increasing astronomically in the different agencies, and the state of WV bears the burden of most of the cost,” said Mike Lacy, Chair of the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being and Director of Probation Services for the WV Supreme Court of Appeals.

“Direct and indirect drug and alcohol crimes make up a large proportion of what the criminal justice system deals with in WV. For example, nearly 65% of inmates at the regional jail authority facilities are there for direct and indirect drug - and alcohol-related crimes in 2008, costing the state over $50 million, a cost that has increased by nearly 20% since 2005,” said Lacy.

“The Financial Burden of Substance Abuse in West Virginia: The Criminal Justice System” is the first set in a series of reports that will examine the cost of drug and alcohol use in the criminal justice, health care, education, child welfare, and workforce systems in WV. A comprehensive report, incorporating estimates from all these different sectors of the government, will be produced at the end of the project.

The reports are part of a larger Family Funding Study project which is funded with federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Block Grant money administered by the WV Div. of Criminal Justice (DCJS).

This report was produced by the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being’s staff at the WV Prevention Resource Center. The WVPRC is an affiliate of Marshall University and funded primarily through two federal grants: the Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment Block Grant administered through the WV DHHR's Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities and a Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant administered through the WV Governor's Office via its Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Additional information about the WV Partnership, the WVPRC, and the Funding Study project is available at www.PrevNET.org.

Prescription Bottle-Like Candy Containers Draw Controversy

A southern West Virginia pharmacy is taking heat for handing out candy to children in bottles that looked like prescription bottles.

The Ripley, WV, Pharmacy says it didn't intend to cause controversy with the bottles, which have been used by pharmacies and hospitals in the past for the same type of marketing. But Dodie Rhodes, whose son recently died from a prescription drug overdose, said it's a bad idea.

"How many deaths have we had from prescription drugs," Rhodes told WSAZ.com. "I can understand the marketing part of it, but I'm thinking, who would give out candy to children in pill bottles."

The pharmacy has said it won't use the bottles again. 

Sand Volleyball Tournament Deadline Today

MOUNDSVILLE, WV -- Today is the deadline for teams to register for the Marshall County Youth in Action sand volleyball tournament.

The tournament is scheduled Friday, July 10, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., at the 12th Street Park in Moundsville. Cost: $5 a team. Proceeds benefit the Special Olympics.

Call Megan at (304) 845-3300 to register.

TIPS Training Program Now Free to Marshall County Employers

MOUNDSVILLE, WV – Retailers and their employees who sell alcohol are invited to attend a training program that prevents sales to minors and people who are already intoxicated. The training program is free to businesses in Marshall County, thanks to the Marshall County Family Resource Network’s receipt of grant funds from the West Virginia Purdue Pharma Asset Forfeiture Funds: Drug-Free West Virginia Grant Program.

The Training for Intervention ProcedureS, or TIPS, is a dynamic, skills-based training program designed to prevent underage drinking, intoxication and drunk driving by enhancing the “people skills” of servers, sellers and consumers of alcohol.

The training session will be held from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 20, at the Marshall County Family Resource Network, 324 7th Street, Moundsville.

The TIPS program is designed to help retailers and their employees to comply with local and state regulations, help protect them from alcohol liability lawsuits and improve professionalism, customer service and customer satisfaction.

The TIPS program is funded by grants from the WV Governor’s Office and the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being. The grant is made possible by the State of West Virginia’s receipt of a federal Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) from the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and the West Virginia Purdue Pharma Asset Forfeiture Funds (PPF): Drug-Free West Virginia (DF) Grant Program.

The grants are administered by the Marshall County Family Resource Network.

For more information on the TIPS training or to register, please contact Theresa Parsons, SPF-SIG coordinator, at (304) 845-3300 or at spfsigcoordinator@comcast.net. 

CMCA Training in Moundsville Aug. 6-7

MOUNDSVILLE –The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition will sponsor a  Communities Mobilizing for Change training on Alcohol on Aug. 6 and 7.

The training is for prevention professionals and anti-drug coalition members. The trainer is Eric Rowles, president of Leading to Change Inc. of Charlotte, N.C. He has worked with more than 130,000 youth, adults, administrators, professionals and policymakers in the past 15 years.

A location and times will be announced shortly.

CEUs have been applied for through the WV Prevention Resource Center.

For more information, please contact Latrisha Whitelatch at (304) 845-3300 or by emailat  marshallcountyspfsig@comcast.net.