Kids Kick Opioids Contest

Jackson Middle student a winner in state Kids Kick Opioids contest


CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced 10 students from the Mid-Ohio Valley as regional winners of the office’s fifth Kids Kick Opioids contest, a public service announcement partnership with elementary and middle schools that encourages students to raise awareness of prescription painkiller abuse.

Among the winners announced is Adelaide Vann of Jackson Middle School.

The other regional winners are: Caitlin Modesitt, Abigail Blackhurst, Sophia Richards and Victoria Rose Smith, all of Ravenswood Middle School;  and Lindy Landis, Nick Ashworth, Elizabeth Adams, Jordan Krajcovic and Caleb Gist, all of Tyler Consolidated Middle School.
 
“Drug abuse needlessly claims too many lives, and our hope is the entries from these artistic students will bring greater awareness and change,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “These entries reveal not only the immense creativity and talent of our students — in some instances, their designs also show the heartbreaking situations that some students experience at home.”
 
Judges recognized winning entries from 67 students overall. Those designs will be displayed in the State Capitol in the fall.
 
The statewide winner and runner up will be announced soon. The statewide winning entry will appear in newspapers across West Virginia as the Attorney General’s next public service announcement.
 
Kids Kick Opioids represents one of many initiatives through which the Attorney General has sought to combat West Virginia’s drug overdose death rate, including a lawsuit against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that achieved sweeping reforms to the nation’s drug quota system.
 
The Attorney General also has combated the opioid crisis with civil litigation, multistate initiatives, funding to target opioid abuse, criminal prosecutions, new technology, engagement with the faith-based community and education.
 
The West Virginia Board of Pharmacy, West Virginia Association of School Nurses and the Capitol Police assisted the Attorney General in judging the public service announcement contest.