Ohio County, West Virginia leaders announce creative efforts to thwart substance abuse

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Expanding their efforts to combat substance abuse, local leaders are launching a program that will make free drug testing kits available to Ohio County, West Virginia residents, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, along with a diverse group of community leaders, announced today.

The saliva-based drug tests are simple and non-invasive. Results are available within 20 minutes. The test screens for a variety of commonly abused substances including marijuana, opioid painkillers, stimulants, tranquilizers, cocaine, methadone, and PCP.  The kits also contain information on how parents can effectively discuss substance abuse with their children. Further, the packets contain information to locate educational and treatment resources. The kits also contain a pre-stamped envelope to voluntarily report test results. No personal information is collected.

The testing kits are provided through a partnership with the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. The kits will be distributed at the following locations in Ohio County:
 
1. Ohio County Sheriff’s Department • 1500 Chapline Street #103 • Wheeling, WV 26003
2. Wheeling Police Department • 1500 Chapline Street #101 • Wheeling, WV 26003
3. Triadelphia Police Department • 4453 National Road • Triadelphia, WV 26059
4. Ohio County Health Department • 1500 Chapline Street #106 • Wheeling, WV 26003
5. The Medicine Shoppe • 620 National Road • Wheeling, WV 26003
6. Elm Grove Pharmacy • 102 E. Bethlehem Boulevard • Wheeling, WV 26003
7. YWCA Wheeling • 1100 Chapline Street • Wheeling, WV 26003
8. Wheeling Park High School • 1976 Park View Road • Wheeling, WV 26003
9. Ohio County Board of Education Office • 2203 National Road • Wheeling, WV 26003

In addition to distributing the free drug testing kits, several other programs were discussed on Tuesday:

• The “Handle with Care” program will be implemented in Ohio County. This program involves a formal system to notify school officials whenever police officers respond to a dangerous or drug-involved situation where a child is present.  School officials will know that a child has been involved in a potentially traumatic situation and that he or she should be handled with care.
• The Appalachia HIDTA educational trailer will be coming to Northern West Virginia in the near future.  The trailer is designed to inform students about substance abuse in an interactive manner.
• High schools in Ohio County will participate in the inaugural prevention competition to be held among schools throughout West Virginia.  This competition will involve students designing educational programming that addresses substance abuse prevention. Students will then present their ideas at a regional competition.