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Governors call for regional approach to drug problems
WASHINGTON, D.C.- At the annual meeting of the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington Sunday, the governors of the member Appalachian states and the federal co-chair underscored the threat posed by substance abuse to Appalachia and called for a regional approach to address the problem.
Describing it as one of the "top three health issues" facing Appalachia and a "barrier to economic development," federal co-chair Anne B. Pope cited an ARC commissioned study which concluded that Appalachia leads the nation in the abuse of prescription painkillers and was facing increasing rates of methamphetamine abuse.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said substance abuse, including prescription drug abuse, was a "big problem" for all the Appalachian governors and affected the quality of the workforce available to take jobs.
Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine described the trafficking in illegal substances across county or state lines as "a very vexing problem that really is a tragedy when you see the magnitude of it" and recommended sharing approaches to fight the problem, particularly with respect to methamphetamine abuse.
As immediate steps to address the problems identified by the governors, Pope announced a new partnership with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The partnership will focus specifically on substance abuse issues within Appalachia. Pope also announced a new grants competition to encourage communities to develop innovative strategies in dealing with substance abuse.
These initiatives will be in addition to the funding already provided by ARC to the Coalition on Appalachian Substance Abuse Policy, a multi-state initiative involving public officials, local communities, and treatment professionals seeking to identify the scope and characteristics of the substance abuse problems and treatment alternatives in Appalachia.
The ARC sponsored study will be released in the next several weeks showing disparities in the Appalachian Region in mental health status and substance abuse prevalence. With regard to treatment, the study notes that Appalachia in some respects compares favorably with the rest of the nation.
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