photo by: Douglass Huxley

Gov. Patrick Morrisey shakes hands with Blennerhassett Middle School student and council president Sadie Geary on Friday during his visit to the school to kick off Red Ribbon Week.

PARKERSBURG — Gov. Patrick Morrisey visited Blennerhassett Middle School on Friday to kick off Red Ribbon Week, which is celebrated annually October 23-31.

“I’m thrilled to be here and to kick off this week and focus on the kids and also to highlight some of the things we’re doing and the progress we’re making, not just at Blennerhassett Middle School, but throughout the state of West Virginia,” Morrisey told students gathered in the school library.

Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco, smoking and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign observed annually in October in the United States. The program aims to inspire students and communities to live drug-free, celebrate healthy lifestyles, and take a stand against substance abuse through education, awareness activities, and positive community engagement.

Morrisey talked to students about the importance of drug prevention among youth and highlighted the state’s ongoing efforts to keep students healthy and drug-free. He talked about contributions from state and local delegates and officials, Westbrook Health Services and school administrators and staff.

“We were able to work together with the counties, the cities, the Legislature, to come up with the first-of-a-kind program, what’s called the West Virginia First Foundation. And that program is tackling the tough parts of the drug epidemic by focusing on supply, demand and prevention issues,” Morrisey said.

He said the foundation, which is a private nonprofit organization that manages the state’s opioid settlement funds to support substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery efforts statewide, has distributed over $100 million, with more on the way.

“It is a lot of money,” Morrisey said. “And we worked really hard to do it, but it’s important that the money gets spent the right way. That’s part of the reason I’m thankful to be here today, because some of the resources can get spent on prevention, on behavioral health, which is certainly a wonderful thing.”

Allison Browning, youth services division director of Westbrook Health Services, also talked about the importance of prevention.

“Investing in prevention is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” Browning said. “Every dollar spent in prevention, on average, can save anywhere from $22 to $26 in future treatment, helping individuals in different ways, families and it helps our communities thrive. Substance use prevention goes way beyond teaching our kids the consequences of drug and alcohol, it also is all about building resilience, helping our young people learn healthy ways to deal with the coping for stress.”

Morrisey said prevention efforts are showing measurable results across the state. He said according to the West Virginia School Learning Environment Survey, youth substance use has dropped dramatically in recent years. Students reporting alcohol use dropped from 13.7% in 2019 to 3.95% in 2024, a nearly 10% drop. He said students reporting marijuana use also reported a decline during that same time period, from 9.4% to 4.3%.

“That’s certainly very, very positive,” Morrisey said. “We’re here to celebrate that.”

He also talked about the significance of Red Ribbon Week, calling it a national campaign that’s about celebrating living drug free and making healthy choices.

“That’s what life is all about,” Morrisey said. “It’s an opportunity for students, for families, for communities, to come together, and, quite frankly, for you to take a stand for a brighter future. Never let anyone push you around. The reality is, you get to control a lot of your own future, and you get to make those good, healthy choices.”