By Calli Norton, for the YJ
An outbreak is ravaging communities here in West Virginia. Families are mourning from Bluefield to Huntington to Morgantown.
In 2016 alone, 52 per 100,000 people fatally overdosed on opioids in our state, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). West Virginia leads the nation in drug deaths. Has for years.
Enough.
This nationwide epidemic hits too close to home for me. That’s why I am serving as the Campus Captain for Students for Opioid Solutions.
SOS began as a grassroots movement to combat this nationwide epidemic in 2017 as a non-profit organization dedicated to finding solutions for the opioid crisis.
West Virginia University, Marshall University and West Virginia State University have SOS campus captains, tirelessly working to ensure this epidemic does not reach college campuses in West Virginia.
It’s time to stop saying things about the opioid epidemic and time to start doing things about the opioid epidemic.
SOS provides sponsored legislation for students to present to their Student Government Association (SGA). The legislation includes ways for the university to take action on campus. Such as providing training to administer a life-saving drug called “Naxalone” in the event of an on-campus overdose.
Unfortunately, our SGA is reluctant to pass the possibly life-saving legislation. I presented the legislation in early October. Despite constant pressure, SGA has not made any effort to pass the legislation.
I am now collecting signatures to put pressure on State’s SGA to pass the legislation.
It’s time to stop saying things about the opioid epidemic and time to start doing things about the opioid epidemic.
Passionate Counselor Offers Help To Students Affected by Opioid Crisis
