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West Virginia has been a battlefield in two wars for the past several decades. The federal "War on Poverty" began in about 1964 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat; and the nation's "war" on drugs began in 1971 under President Richard M. Nixon, a Republican.
It is stunning how little progress we've made on either of those.
In fact, here in the Mountain State we've made almost no progress in fighting the substance abuse epidemic. According to WalletHub's look at "Drug Use by State: 2023's Problem Areas," West Virginia is ranked 2nd overall for highest drug use. Only New Mexico is worse.
We continue to be tied for first (with the District of Columbia) for the number of overdose deaths per capita. West Virginia is seventh for drug use and addiction, third for law enforcement (arrests, etc.), and 18th for drug health issues and rehab.
Perhaps of some use to state lawmakers is our rank of 48th for the number of people receiving substance abuse treatment per 1,000 drug users.
WalletHub points out our country's effort to fight the substance abuse epidemic has an "uncertain future and lack of significant progress to date." One thing seems obvious after 50 or 60 years: The solution is not going to come from the federal government.
In fact, if it is to come from government at all, it will likely be at the hands of state lawmakers who take seriously their responsibility to lift ALL Mountain State residents with sound economic growth and diversification policy, improved educational opportunities, affordable and accessible health care that includes mental health services, better transportation options and reliable broadband access for as many as possible.
Most assuredly our progress will not come at the hands of those few lawmakers who makes such a scene of trying to drive us backward and into the dark. The era they crave is the era in which many of the evils we face found their footing. And that kind of thinking is -- quite literally -- killing us.