By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lawmakers in West Virginia are considering additional restrictions on residential addiction recovery homes and sober living houses during the next legislative session after Parkersburg’s moratorium in July.
Members of the Joint Committee on Health met Sunday on the first day of three-day legislative interim meetings at the State Capitol Building in Charleston.
Committee members heard a testimony Sunday afternoon from Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce about the city’s moratorium on residential recovery facilities. The Parkersburg City Council voted 8-1 in July to prevent additional facilities from setting up within city limits.
According to Joyce, Parkersburg has 206 beds which were located within city limits — accounting for 19 percent of all licensed substance abuse treatment beds in the state. Wood County alone has 281, which account for 25 percent of licenses treatment beds in the state.
Joyce said more than $6.6 million has been spent since 2017 for infrastructure, rehabilitation, and physical space for three residential treatment facilities…
