"An Inside Look at the Opioid Crisis that Destroyed a Town"

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By the time I retired and left Huntington last year, the town had descended into a nightmare. Drugs had killed everything.

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So, having lost your job and needing a fix a couple of times a day, what can you do? You start by asking, pleading and finally stealing from your own family. Then you start riskier thefts—start easy, like shoplifting, then motorcycles, ATVs and cars. Now get a gun and try a few 7-11s or the local branch bank for the funds to get through the next day or two. Given the circumstances behind this situation, it became an excusable or understandable crime. This added to the pressure on the courts to keep the backlogs under control. What used to be a serious offense became like traffic tickets: a public defender, a plea deal and so on.

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Finally, I should acknowledge that my lengthy answer to my classmate’s question was generated by a fair amount of guilt. No, I never abused my narcotics-prescribing responsibilities or forgot the Hippocratic Oath. But there is another type of sin, not just of commission, but the sin of omission. I should have seen this crisis building and spent more time pushing back against the forces that turned my old hometown into a wasteland. More than likely, my efforts would have been futile. Many civic, business and church leaders did see it coming and tried to turn the tide without success. But I do regret not having fought the fight a lot harder. All we can do now is try to learn from past mistakes, and I know there were plenty here.

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