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WVU’s John Deskins to testify before Senate Energy Committee

John Deskins, director of West Virginia University’s Bureau of Business & Economic Research, is testifying on Capitol Hill before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources on the importance of energy innovation to economic growth and competitiveness. His testimony will begin at 10 a.m. on Thursday (July 25).

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Opioid epidemic effect in state’s public schools creates ‘crisis in the classroom’

A West Virginia University study of the state’s public schools found that more than 70 percent of teachers reported an increase in students affected by substance use. Teachers need more training and more resources to keep up with “A Crisis in the Classroom,” according to Frankie Tack, WVU Addiction Studies Minor Coordinator and Clinical Assistant Professor.

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Reframing the problem ‘essential’ to alleviating opioid crisis

A West Virginia University health policy expert says The Washington Post analysis of targeted markets for opioid distribution sheds further light on the fact that substance use disorder has many causes and consequences. Accountability for addiction rests not only with the individual, but within the social and economic context that create an environment conducive to drug access and abuse, according to Chris Plein, professor of public administration.

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WVU focusing on preparing social work professionals to deal with opioid addiction

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that West Virginia has the highest rate of opioid-related deaths in the United States; also alarming, the state has a shortage of mental health professionals to provide treatment for people coping with addiction and recovery, according to West Virginia University expert Deanna Morrow.

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Systemic flooding of pain pills into Appalachia ‘obscene’

Dr. James Berry, West Virginia University’s director of Addiction Services, says data from the Drug Enforcement Administration revealing the targeted distribution of pain pills and the corresponding rise in overdose deaths is alarming, if unsurprising to those who treat addiction.

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DEA has shirked responsibility when it comes to opioids

While the Drug Enforcement Administration dealt decisively with previous drug epidemics– speed in the 70s and Quaaludes in the 80s – it has allowed large pharmaceutical companies free rein in producing opioids, according to West Virginia University’s John Temple, the author of “American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidemic” which examined the genesis and proliferation of the opioid epidemic.

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WVU hosts Community Physics Festival

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of humankind’s first steps on the moon with three full-dome planetarium shows and a featured presentation by Hilda Heady, whose aunt, Bonnie Holmes, was the main assistant to key NASA rocket developer Werner von Braun. Demonstrations include an electromagnetic can crusher and liquid nitrogen ice cream.

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Do we have the ‘resources and will’ to confront the opioid crisis?

Data released this week from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automated Reports and Consolidated Orders Systems shows disproportionate pain pill distribution into Appalachian and rural communities, which resulted in an opioid crisis for West Virginia and the region. West Virginia University expert Robin Pollini says the data underscores the depth of the problem and the need to confront it.