Eden McKinney and Kaidence Dawson of Brooke Middle School were regional winners in West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s eighth Kids Kick Opioids contest, a competition designed to spur creativity and raise awareness of prescription painkiller abuse.
“Drug abuse needlessly claims too many lives, and our hope is the entries from these artistic students will bring greater awareness and change—these entries really showcase the tremendous talent of our elementary and middle school participants,” Morrisey said. 
“These works of art underscore the impact of the opioid epidemic on our young students. They are growing up in a time when drug abuse runs rampant. Our goal is their artwork will bring about greater awareness and a renewed commitment to change.”
The attorney general received a total of 2,135 entries from 2,177 students at 71 middle and elementary schools across West Virginia. The submissions included a mix of drawings, poems and other designs aimed at promoting awareness.
Judges recognized winning entries from 69 students overall. Those designs will be displayed in the State Capitol in the fall.
The statewide winner and runner-up will be announced soon. That 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 fought 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.