August 29, 2012

Manchin Applauds Additional Law Enforcement Resources to Fight Drug Abuse Epidemic

At Manchin’s urging, four Northern Panhandle counties named High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Brooke, Hancock, Marshall and Ohio counties join 11 other West Virginia counties with HIDTA designation 

Charleston, W.Va. – At the urging of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Office of National Drug Control Policy announced today that four additional counties will get more federal resources to fight the drug epidemic. 

“Drug abuse is at an epidemic level in this country, and I’ve visited too many communities in our state that are being devastated by drugs,” Senator Manchin said. “I’ve talked to children who are desperate to see their parents get off drugs and employers who are struggling to find employees who can pass a drug test – we have to put a stop to this. The health of our families and our communities depends on ending this epidemic. I can promise that our local law enforcement officials who are on the frontline of this fight will put these additional federal resources to good use.” 

Senator Manchin is aggressively fighting to end the prescription drug epidemic in West Virginia. In his most recent effort, Senator Manchin successfully passed a measure in the Senate to make hydrocodone more difficult for drug abusers to get. His measure was rejected in a House bill, but Senator Manchin continues to work with members of both parties to pass this commonsense measure and take prescription drugs out of the hands of those who abuse them. 

Background: 

Through the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA), the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) provides support and financial resources to law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. 

The program currently funds 670 initiatives nationwide, in the areas of enforcement and prosecution, intelligence and information sharing, and drug use prevention and treatment. There are 28 regional HIDTAs coordinating these efforts. West Virginia falls within the Appalachian HIDTA office.

There are 11 counties in West Virginia currently designated as HIDTAs: Boone, Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Putnam and Wayne.