CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia attorney general’s office is sponsoring its annual contest among schoolchildren to promote awareness of prescription painkiller abuse.
The “Kids Kick Opioids” contest is in its fourth year and is open to elementary and middle school students, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a news release. Entries can include poems, drawings, letters or anything that promotes awareness of painkiller abuse.
Students can work individually or in groups. The winning entry will be used by Morrisey in a newspaper public service advertisement. Regional winners will be displayed at the state Capitol.
The deadline for entries is March 13. They can be mailed to the attorney general’s office at 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., State Capitol Building 1, Room 26-E, Charleston WV 25305, or sent by email to AGPSA.contest@wvago.gov.
The contest generated entries from 3,422 students last year.
West Virginia has the nation’s highest death rate involving drug overdoses.