Closing arguments are being made in the landmark federal opioid trial taking place in West Virginia, with communities across the country watching closely what may happen and how this might impact proposed settlements in thousands of other opioid cases. The trial is focusing on two counties in West Virginia that were shipped more than 81 million prescription painkillers for an area with a population of fewer than 100,000 people; today, officials say 1 in 10 individuals are now opioid-dependent and there are more than 2,000 children diagnosed with developmental damage linked to opioids. The three big drug distributors on trial in West Virginia recently agreed to a $21 billion settlement to end other cases brought by more than 40 states, for their role in the epidemic, which has killed more than 500,000 Americans over the past two decades.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post publishes an in-depth story about one community in West Virginia and its struggle to contain the opioid crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. It notes that overdoses were already at record levels when the lockdowns increased the fear, despair, and loneliness of those struggling with substance use. As the human connection is at the heart of addiction treatment, those support systems disintegrated in the shutdowns, cutting off a vital part of achieving and maintaining sobriety. Along with widespread job losses and the increasingly dangerous supply of illicit drugs, this contributed to a spike in overdose fatalities in West Virginia and nationwide, which last year reached a record 93,000.
And finally, officials in drought-stricken California say that water theft is on the rise—including from illegal marijuana growers. They say the pot cultivators are tapping into fire hydrants and drilling unauthorized wells to raise their water-intensive plants, threatening the water supply for residents. The illegal marijuana market was supposed to disappear once the state legalized pot, but that apparently hasn’t happened yet.