WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Representative David McKinley (R-W.Va.) today announced and applauded the designation of Wood County as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Acting Director Richard Baum called Senator Capito on Monday to deliver the news directly.
This HIDTA designation will enable Wood County to receive federal resources to further the coordination and development of drug control efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement officials. The designation will also make it possible for local agencies to benefit from ongoing HIDTA-coordinated initiatives that are working to reduce drug use and its consequences across the entire country.
Senator Capito and Representative McKinley have worked closely with ONDCP to secure HIDTA designations for counties throughout West Virginia, and sent a letter to ONDCP Acting Director Richard Baum on May 8, 2017 encouraging the designation of Wood County.
Senator Capito has led the fight to maintain critical resources for addressing the opioid epidemic through ONDCP, which advises the president on drug control issues and funds programs like HIDTA. Former ONDCP Director Michael Botticelli and other high-level federal officials have joined Senator Capito in West Virginia to see the problem firsthand. As a member of the Appropriations Committee and chairman of the Financial Services and General Government subcommittee that oversees funding for federal drug programs, Senator Capito has been vocal about her support, which has resulted in continued funding for the HIDTA program.
“Putting an end to this terrible drug epidemic requires a broad-spectrum of solutions,” Senator Capito said. “HIDTA designations play an important role in this fight because they provide additional resources that are essential for those on the front-lines to continue their efforts to create drug-free communities throughout the state. Through my work with local, state and federal officials, I was glad to have helped secure this designation for Wood County, and know it will make a difference by providing new tools and resources to protect the residents in Wood County.”
“We need all the help available to fight drug epidemic ravaging our communities. The HIDTA program gives law enforcement additional resources to take drug traffickers off our streets. Wood County is the seventh county in the First District we’ve helped get a HIDTA designation. This will help law enforcement in Wood County fight this terrible scourge,” said Representative McKinley.
“Drug trafficking is a national problem that has to be addressed on the local level, and adding these counties to the HIDTA program is a critical part of this effort,” said Richard Baum, Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy. “These new designations and the funding they will bring will help our Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers work together to disrupt and dismantle the trafficking networks that are bringing drugs into our communities.”
Wood County is the 21st county in West Virginia to be designated. Other HIDTA counties include: Berkeley, Boone, Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Ohio, Putnam, Raleigh, Wayne and Wyoming.
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