Jim Johnson

Lessons learned from the center of America’s opioid epidemic

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About Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson, the recently retired Director of the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy, is a former police chief from Huntington, WV -- a town where one in ten residents is addicted to opioids. Under Jim's leadership, Huntington established the Mayor's Office of Drug Control Policy, which formed important partnerships to develop the first harm reduction program in the state of West Virginia. The all-encompassing initiative, which includes education, syringe exchange, and Nalaxone distribution, has served over 2,000 individuals and has resulted in 1,000 opioid reversals. The office also formed the Woman’s Empowerment Addiction Recovery (W.E.A.R.) program, a specific drug court track that focuses on women who have been involved in the sex trade due to their drug addiction. These innovative and collaborative programs have gained national recognition and Jim has spoken at the White House, the Office of National Drug Control Policy Forum, and the North Carolina State Legislature, among many others.

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About This Talk

Jim Johnson recently retired as the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy in Huntington, West Virginia—a city in which 10% of people are addicted to opioids. In the past, the main strategy that Huntington employed to deal with the drug crisis was incarceration. However, having served as the city's former police chief and a jail administrator, Jim came to realize that alternatives to incarceration and traditional law enforcement strategies could more effectively tackle addiction in his community.

Jim decided to lead with a more comprehensive approach, partnering with diverse community organizations in an effort to divert people addicted to opioids away from the prison system and to assist them in gaining access to treatment and reclaiming their health. Watch Jim's 2017 TEDMED Talk to learn more about how the innovative, collaborative, and nationally-recognized programs embraced in Huntington are helping the city to tackle the opioid epidemic and bringing a new sense of hope to the community.

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