• “Congressional office baseball bat attacker enters insanity plea in Virginia.”—NBC4

• “Community comes together to remember the missing Virginia mother whose husband is accused of killing her.”—CNN

• “59-year-old shot, another arrested after road rage incident in Halifax County: VSP.”—WSET

• “Inventory grew in Va. housing market in July.”—Virginia Business

• “More than 60% of SNAP-eligible Virginian seniors aren’t getting benefits.”—Axios Richmond

Starting this week — and for the first time since January 2023 — the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy has a permanent director.

Dr. Stephen Loyd, an internal medicine and addiction medicine physician from Tennessee, began work on Monday after being named as head of the agency last month. 

With a medical degree from East Tennessee State University, Loyd previously worked as the chief medical officer at Cedar Recovery in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He also sat as chair of the state’s Opioid Abatement Council. Before that, he served as Tennessee’s top drug policy expert, holding the position of opioid czar for the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Use for about two years.

Loyd’s first act as head of the state  Office of Drug Control Policy was presenting to lawmakers on the Joint Standing Committee on Health, where he shared what his approach will be in his new office and what he believes could help the state be successful in confronting the ongoing drug and overdose epidemic.

“West Virginia has been ground zero for the opioid crisis. It’s where it started. It’s where it’s continued today, and there have been a lot of really great people in this state that have worked really hard and because of whatever reasons, we are where we are, right?” Loyd said. “I think it would be a great thing if West Virginia showed the rest of the country how to get out of this crisis, and I think that we can do that.”

An integral part to confronting the epidemic, Loyd said, is increasing attention on measurable outcomes of what works when it comes to addiction. He said the state needs to get “creative” in approaches and ensure that responses are coordinated and strategic, with communication between different agencies that deal with people impacted by substance use disorder.

The first places he plans to look at, he said, are the state’s criminal justice system and Medicaid.

“There’s no state in the United States that’s going to address the opioid crisis effectively in their state without addressing criminal justice. It’s not going to happen,” Loyd said. “So many people are imprisoned in our jails and our penitentiaries in the United States that are secondary to substance use disorder. That number is so big, it won’t matter what you do outside of there, if you don’t address it there, we will be failures, I promise you that.”

When people who have substance use disorder are released from incarceration, they are 40 times more likely to overdose and die in the days after their release than others in their communities, Loyd said. 

“That is one of the biggest gaps that we have right now,” Loyd said. “That is low hanging fruit, and we can go after that, but we’ve got to have quality places in our community that are treating people, that accept Medicaid, that have standards of care that I think that this legislative body can put in place to ensure this happens. I’m going to bring those ideas before you, I promise you that in short order.”

Generally, Loyd said, the state needs to improve its use of data analytics. Loyd said he would like to see the state make “a small investment up front” to create a “roadmap” for response. 

Loyd previously worked as a voluntary co-chair of The Helios Alliance, an Alabama-based organization that is using “innovative, transformative [and] evidence-based technologies” to confront the opioid epidemic while educating the public on interventions. He is not currently listed on the organization’s website as a co-chair and it’s unclear when he left that position.

In March, Loyd told KFF Health News that he believes statistical modeling and artificial intelligence can be used to create a simulation of the opioid crisis that could predict what kinds of programs would be most effective at saving lives. That modeling, he said, can help direct local officials on how to best invest money they receive through opioid settlement funds. It’s unclear where the efforts to create this modeling — which was estimated to cost about $1.5 million for Alabama — currently stands. According to KFF, the Helios Alliance was also “in discussions” with leaders in Tennessee and West Virginia to create simulations.

When it comes to getting creative with responses, Loyd said leaders should be looking at policies and laws that already exist and potentially using them in a new way. He referred to mental hygiene holds, which allow for people who have the potential to harm themselves or others being held for several days to undergo psychological evaluation.

If that law could be used for someone who injects drugs — which, he said, presents a clear danger to the person — providers could use that time to try and get the person into a system of recovery. To do that, however, there must be a dependable system in place for them to enter into. He said he plans to start immediately learning about West Virginia’s recovery infrastructure and what challenges exist there.

Loyd told lawmakers that part of what drives his dedication to addiction work is his own experiences with the disease. The inspiration for Michael Keaton’s character in the Hulu limited series “Dopesick” (based on the 2018 book of the same name by journalist Beth Macy), Loyd has been in recovery from opioid and benzodiazepine addiction for 20 years.

He wants to ensure that, through his work, people who live with substance use disorder are afforded the same opportunities he was to enter a system of recovery that works and reclaim their lives.

“This is my life,” Loyd said. “I wake up every morning with one goal, and that’s to help as many people find recovery as humanly possible. That’s it. I don’t care really about anything else.”

Different people, Loyd said, will have different paths to recovery. The important thing is ensuring that there are sound and dependable systems in place for them to utilize, no matter what their path looks like. 

“We have to talk about evidence-based prevention strategies that are going to work. And guys, I don’t care about what the politics are behind it. I don’t care about what the push is behind it,” Loyd said. “I want to do things that work and that save people’s lives and give them an opportunity to do the things that I’ve been given an opportunity to do in my life.”

With the college football year kicking off just this past Saturday and the official week one beginning this week, teams are looking to start the year off right by picking up a win to begin their season.

One of those teams will be Virginia Tech, as they take on Vanderbilt this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. After their 7-6 record this past year, including a bowl game win, the Hokies expect to reach greater heights this year. With the matchup coming up soon, let’s get a rundown of some important storylines going into the match in Nashville.

Virginia Tech sits as a 13-point favorite; do they get the dominating win that many fans expect to see?

The hype for Virginia Tech is real this year; there is no doubt about it, but the fact is that the Hokies have notably underperformed in games where they shouldn’t. 

VT has a chance to turn that around this year, starting in Nashville. They face a Commodore team that went 2-10 in the regular season, including 0-8 against SEC opponents. With Virginia Tech returning the majority of their production on offense and defense, the Hokies don’t 100% need to win by 40 points like some of the CFB powerhouses in week one sometimes do, but Brent Pry and Co. need to display that they aren’t messing around this year. 

2. Ali Jennings makes his first return to the field since injuring his ankle in week two of last year’s matchup vs. Purdue.

Transferring from ODU after back-to-back 900+ yard seasons, Jennings was set to have a huge year for the Hokies in the 2023 season. Unfortunately, after his 72-yard and two touchdown performance in week one for the Hokies, he went down with an injury the next week and would miss the remainder of the season, leaving the WR1 duties to guys like Jaylin Lane and Da’Quan Felton.

Despite the misfortune of last year, Ali Jennings will be primed and ready for his return against Vanderbilt, and he looks to give VT fans a taste of what they missed from him last season. With Kyron Drones at the helm again for the Hokies, he will enjoy yet another dangerous target on the field in Jennings.

3. New offensive additions to Vanderbilt and their rushing defense?

The Commandores have a new face on offense in New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia. Pavia, who had a strong season last year and was the Confenrece USA OPOY, has 39 career passing touchdowns and is also a rushing threat, totaling 13 career rushing touchdowns. They also return leading rusher Sedrick Alexander, who will look to barrel through a tough Hokies defense.

With Vandy’s top three receivers gone as well, new faces are going to have to prove themselves in week one vs. the Hokies.

On the defensive side, 

“The Vanderbilt defense has frankly struggled against the run; it has not been pretty. Vanderbilt has the 108th-ranked rush defense, giving up an average of 179 rush yards per game. The Vandy defense has struggled in many ways; it has definitely not just been the run. Vandy ranks 130th in opp. points per game, 132nd in opp. yards per game, and 129th in opp. points per play.”

All in all, every question will be answered in five days when the Hokies and the Commodores face off in Nashville.