Congressman McKinley maintains focus on opioid epidemic

West Virginia Congressman David McKinley will serve on three House Energy and Commerce subcommittees.

His goal? Stopping the opioid issues affecting his state.

In West Virginia, 52 of every 100,000 deaths are opioid related.

The state has led the country in overdose deaths the last few years.

Congressman McKinley is looking at ways to put a dent in the problems, which is why he is a proponent of President Trump’s idea of building a wall – a way of keeping drugs out of the country.

“Worst is the opioid, this drug problem. We know heroin is coming in, we know fentanyl and others are still coming through the mail, that’s a different problem. But the heroin that’s coming in, we’ve got to come up with a way to stop it,” he said.

McKinley also wants to dig deeper into the role pharmacies play in the amount of prescriptions doctors are writing in certain counties.

He said a recent article said that pharmacies are providing incentives for doctors to write extra prescriptions.

Now, McKinley is hoping an investigation will provide answers, and he is pushing for a hearing on the subject if something seems off.

“I think there’s enough pressure coming across the country about this opioid problem and I think we’ll get it this time,” he said.

McKinley hopes digging deeper will help come up with some solutions that won’t just benefit West Virginia, but the entire country.