Recovering West Virginians should be goal of opioid policy
A man walks by a billboard for a drug recovery center in Youngstown on July 14, 2017 in Youngstown, Ohio. (Spencer Platt | )
Turning a weakness into a strength isn't just a wise saying that makes for a good motivational poster or positive social media post. When it comes to those struggling with addiction, turning a weakness to a strength is a matter of life and death. For a state that is seeing some small rays of light and hope against the still dark and dusty reality of an opioid crisis, turning the loss of addicted West Virginians into recovered citizens for a state that can't afford to lose any more population is the existential threat of our time.
Dr. Stephen Loyd, the director of West Virginia's Office of Drug Control Policy since August of 2024, talks about the challenges of measurable outcomes. More specifically, how a medical doctor like himself can often give measurable outcomes along with a prescribed course of treatment after a diagnosis, but with addiction there isn't that conversation. "In addiction, we don't have that. We look at outcomes differently," he told the AP in an interview upon taking his new role as West Virginia's "Drug Czar. "We don't know how effective we've been at spending our money because I don't think that we've really talked a lot about looking at meaningful outcomes."
The fact that Dr. Loyd is in charge of a state that is still fighting an uphill battle against addiction in and of itself should be a measurable outcome in one very important way. As he openly talks about every chance he gets, Dr. Loyd, Drug Czar, is also Dr. Loyd, recovered drug addict. His story noting how he was referred to treatment instead of the harsher penalties others in his situation were getting is a foundational piece to how he views his responsibilities. "I get a pass because I have MD after my name, and I've known that for a long time... And it's not fair."
While the letters after the name and credentials of the person were an unfair modifier in the case of Dr. Loyd, the story of going from addict to advocate is an important example to point to. It also begs the question, if the person in charge of the state's opioid woes can overcome and contribute leadership at the highest levels, what other roles could recovered persons take?
If we are to have measurable outcomes on what will be a never-ending war against addiction, they must be measurable in what the people involved can do post-addiction.
There are three levels to recovery. The first is the abstinence stage, which is the one most politicians and the public just want to get to, various versions of "just stop being an addict so you aren't a problem." The outside world too often thinks an addict not using is no longer an addict, a damagingly ignorant assumption that results in a lack of support and funding for programs that go beyond "just get those drug users to quit."
The second stage shows why the first stage is both insufficient for personal recovery and inconvenient to policymakers and an often inpatient public: the repair stage. This stage is often the messy part, because as the recovering individual gets to "feeling better" without their addiction the root causes often have to be dealt with, things like trauma, environment, situations, and other things that need as much treatment as the addiction did. This stage is not short, often requiring several years of various treatments and support. Support which takes more funding, and more support, and a patient and understanding public and political system that shows a shocking lack of both.
The third stage though is where the weakness can be turned into strength. Somewhere in year three to five of recovery the person enters the growth stage, which lasts the rest of the recovering person's life. Hopefully. That's where the experience can lead to new skills, new outlook and a new drive to be a productive person both in the recovered person's private life and also in employment, self-improvement and in the community.
That's where Dr. Loyd is, and that is where long term planning for addiction recovery should be focused. There is only one West Virginia drug czar, but there is a need for hundreds of counselors, health workers, support staff and dozens of other roles recovered citizens could not only fill, but which would keep them moving forward in their growth stage.
It will take money and funding — a lot of money and funding — to place recovered West Virginians into skill programs and educational opportunities and get them to work against the very crisis that forever changed their lives. Folks will push back against that. It will take a great deal of upfront investment not only in money but in time, as the cycle of recovery means those who start today may not see the work force for three, four, five years or longer. Folks will push back on that.
To that push back must come a firm answer that such stonewalling ensures nothing changes and the problem perpetuates. The price will not only rise with procrastination but the human toll will just climb higher as well, while the naysayers will continue to never help anyone, ever, with anything. At the same time, point to the sitting director of West Virginia's Office of Drug Control Policy who is telling anyone who will listen "I did it, and you can too." A message and example not just for struggling folks too many have written off as not worth the effort, and who are derisively thought of as getting what they brought upon themselves, that recovery is only a string of one more day's away.
Instead of the usual rhetoric and caterwauling over addiction, setting a measurable outcome of how many former addicts can West Virginia recover in the next five years into workers against the opioid crisis from whence they came is something worth setting a goal and working towards. Turning the terrible human toll of the opioid crisis into a strength of a generation that overcame and became the solution is worth all the effort we can put into it.
