The Purdue Pharma settlement from the OxyContin hearings includes $44 million for West Virginia. There are fewer than 300 drug treatment beds available in the entire state and 14,000 people, that officials know about, need help. People addicted to and dependent on drugs are being turned away from treatment centers in droves due to long waiting lists. Is the Purdue settlement going to help handle that situation? Hardly: most of the money is going to law enforcement – only $3.2 million is earmarked for desperately needed West Virginia drug rehab.



The issue made the recent news when three people died – a man killed his wife, his friend, and then himself after having been refused at three drug rehab centers the day before when they didn’t have room or he didn’t have insurance. The three tragic deaths are just a drop in the bucket compared to the devastation drug addiction is causing in West Virginia. Drug rehab has never been more needed, and the lack of adequate facilities is killing people and ruining lives left and right.



In the meantime, very little of the Purdue money is going to help them.



* Most of West Virginia’s Purdue settlement goes directly to the State Police. It will be spent on training and investigation tools, property acquisition, renovation and construction, and new equipment. The biggest chunk, $4.4 million, is earmarked for 200 new police cruisers.


* Just over $3 million will pay for prevention resource officers – one in each of the state’s 55 counties.


* $175,000 is for drug addiction training.


* $3.2 million – this is the money going towards drug rehab – will finance a new drug treatment unit at the Welch Community Hospital.


West Virginia doesn’t have a history of spending a lot of money on drug rehab. Direct and indirect costs of substance abuse in West Virginia amounts to $1.86 billion a year, according to Delegate Don Perdue (D-Wayne), chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee. That’s enough to get all 14,000 who needed but didn’t get treatment in 2005 through a long-term residential drug rehab program that would really turn their lives around – not to mention how much money would be saved on law enforcement and other expenses that wouldn’t be necessary if there were 14,000 fewer drug addicts in the state - and still leave about $1.4 billion.



Meanwhile, state psychiatric hospitals are overcrowded, largely because of substance abuse and, according to Mr. Perdue, the 14,000 needing treatment will eventually get it - when they wind up in already over-crowded prisons.



Although I’m sure law enforcement could use some new cruisers and updated facilities, investment in a drug rehab program for each of the 14,000 who need help might be a better way to spend the Purdue Pharma settlement, not to mention the annual $1.86 billion.