Public forums will be held starting this week on a statewide response to substance abuse in West Virginia.
The first will be Tuesday, Oct. 15 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
Other forums are scheduled for Wednesday at the West Virginia University-Parkersburg campus, Oct. 21 at the University of Charleston student union ballroom and Oct. 22 at the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office training center in Martinsburg. Others include one on Oct. 23 at Wheeling University's Swint Hall and Oct. 24 at the Robert H. Mollohan research Center in Fairmont.
All six forums will begin at 4:30 p.m. with registration beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Public comments can be submitted at the forums, which are being conducted by the state Office of Drug Control Policy and the Governor's Council on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment.
West Virginia has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the nation.
