Roxy Todd Published

Senators Ask National Guard to Help Fight Drug Epidemic

opioids_heroin_generic.jpg
Listen

U.S. Senators from West Virginia and New Hampshire are asking the National Guard to provide more help fighting drug epidemics in their states.

West Virginia and New Hampshire are both states with extremely high numbers of overdose fatalities. The National Guard’s Counterdrug Program provides local law enforcement highly-trained analysts to support their counter-narcotic efforts. But Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are writing letters asking for more help.

In 2015, the West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force assisted law enforcement agencies 37 times, seizing illicit drugs valued at over $1 billion. The task force also provided training to 400 law enforcement officers.

The Guard’s Counterdrug Program is federally funded and provides military specific skill-sets to law enforcement agencies and community based organizations to battle the supply and demand for illicit drugs.