Some of the most remote parts of Southwest Virginia are about to get help in the opioid crisis. That’s because this month, two counties are receiving a new federal designation.
Pulaski County and Wythe County are the newest additions to an area that the federal government is targeting in the ongoing opioid crisis. They now have a new official designation, “high-density drug trafficking areas.” Anthony Akers, a county official in Pulaski, says it’s part of an Obama administration effort to take what federal officials call a “smart-on-crime” approach.
“Incarceration is not right for everyone. Of course people commit crimes and they do things and some obviously need to be incarcerated, but there are some people who legitimately want help."
Frank Shafroth at George Mason University says the federal designation will help local and state officials coordinate with the feds to take an approach that offers alternatives to incarceration.
“Getting someone on your task force who has distinct knowledge, understanding and experience with how these opioids are distributed and what has been effective in dealing with them in other regions is invaluable."
The move comes as a rare moment of bipartisan agreement during an otherwise bitterly divided election season.
