![\"\"](\"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/61\/2019\/11\/In-The-News-300x142.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Oct 8th<\/sup>, 2019 \u201cThe\u00a0town hall, with panel discussions, speakers and a breakout session, was a partnership between WCU\u2019s\u00a0Center for the Study of Free Enterprise\u00a0and the Jackson County Community Foundation, which launched a monthlong opioid and addiction awareness campaign in September leading up to the forum. More than 200 people attended, including WCU faculty, staff and students, government officials, health professionals and health care advocates, law enforcement, journalists and community members.\u201d <\/p>\n Oct 2, 2019 \u201cAdolescent substance use is on the rise across the country. Access to drugs (including opioids) and alcohol has increased exponentially, and the risks associated with substance use continue to grow in this vulnerable population. Again, the argument can be made that this is typical for a teenager to experiment with alcohol or other drugs, but I challenge that thinking, as it doesn\u2019t have to be the case. The Centers for Disease Control have identified significant long-term impacts of adolescent substance use, which include impacts to physical growth and brain development, health and wellbeing problems, and increased engagement in behaviors that are deemed risky.\u201d <\/p>\n Oct 1, 2019 <\/p>\n Sept 30, 2019 \u201cPrescription opioid abuse has been in the national spotlight\u00a0this summer as new data about the numbers of prescriptions per county has been released.\u00a0North Carolina is also part of national lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies like\u00a0Purdue Pharma\u00a0for their role in the crisis.\u00a0In Western North Carolina, the policies around opioids and substance abuse issues are shifting as local politicians and experts look for a solution to the epidemic.\u201d <\/p>\n Sept 25, 2019 \u201cIt\u2019s been said time and time again after forums, panels and public meetings held in communities across the country over the past dozen-odd years: if we could talk our way out of the nation\u2019s opioid crisis, it would have been over a decade ago.\u00a0\u201c <\/p>\n Sept 25, 2019 \u201cThe profession of nursing is the most broadly educationally prepared group of health care professionals that can contribute a holistic perspective to address the complex needs of individuals, families and communities working to overcome this current crisis. For this to happen, the general public, medical providers and policymakers need to acknowledge that there are other ways to support health and wellness beyond traditional medical treatments. Medical providers, in particular, need to do a better job understanding what other health care professionals can bring to the table.\u201d <\/p>\n Sept 18, 2019 \u201cThe criminal justice system operates on the principle that individual will is the sole determinant of behavior. If the defendant wants to stay out of jail, avoid a probation violation or make it to the next court date, then he\u2019ll make it happen. This approach seems to suffice, until the gaps in the system prove otherwise.\u201d Oct 8th, 2019 Story by Geoff Cantrell from WCU Town hall on opioid and addiction crisis opens doors to potential solutions \u201cThe\u00a0town hall, with panel discussions, speakers and a breakout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":567,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[343,304,307,322,262,181,241,280,295,268,346,205],"class_list":["post-8563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-addiction","tag-adolescent-addiction","tag-beth-young","tag-center-for-the-study-of-free-enterprise","tag-crisis","tag-csfe","tag-opioid","tag-opioid-abuse","tag-opioid-crisis","tag-opioid-epidemic","tag-town-hall","tag-wcu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/567"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8563"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8581,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8563\/revisions\/8581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/csfe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nStory by Geoff Cantrell from WCU<\/p>\nTown hall on opioid and addiction crisis opens doors to potential solutions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOp-Ed in Smoky Mountain News by Beth Young
\nWCU Social Work<\/p>\nWe must be honest about adolescent addiction<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n
\nop-ed in the (Waynesville) Mountaineer
\nWCU\u2019s Lane Perry and Pathways Center Mandy Haithcox<\/p>\n\u2018Releasing the Shame\u2019: A story about opioids\u2019 impact on individuals and communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong>\u201cOver the years, the impact of the opioid crisis has been felt across our communities, and organizations such as Pathways are there to meet the need at both the personal and community levels. While opioid addiction erodes foundations, Pathways focuses on building foundations.\u201d
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n
\nStory by Lilly Knoepp from Blue Ridge Public Radio<\/p>\nHow Substance Abuse Issues Have Changed In WNC<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here<\/a><\/p>\n
\nStory by Cory Vaillancourt from Smoky Mountain News<\/p>\nWestern Carolina University event \u2018walks the walk\u2019 on opioid crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOp-Ed in Smoky Mountain News by Kae\u00a0Livsey
\nWCU Nursing<\/p>\nMore than medicine needed to address opioid epidemic<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n
\nOp Ed in Smoky Mountain News by Albert Kopak
\nWCU Criminology<\/p>\nTo reduce overdose deaths, start in the local jail<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nRead more here:<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"