Loyd Resignation Raises Serious Questions about Morrisey Administration’s Drug Policy
For Immediate Release October 1, 2026
Loyd Resignation Raises Serious Questions about Morrisey Administration’s Drug Policy
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin today expressed deep concern over the resignation of Dr. Stephen Loyd, the state’s director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, and the extraordinary revelations Loyd made about his experience serving in the Morrisey administration.
After roughly two years as West Virginia’s drug czar, Loyd said he still could not identify the administration’s drug policy. As reported by West Virginia Watch’s reporters Lori Kersey and Amelia Ferrell Knisely, Loyd said: “I don’t have any idea what the policy of the administration was. I tried to find out.”
Loyd also said that during the year and a half he served under Governor Patrick Morrisey, he never spoke directly with the governor, other than receiving a text message from Morrisey around the time of his resignation.
“Dr. Loyd deserved better, and so did the people of West Virginia,” Pushkin said. “This is a physician and addiction specialist who came to West Virginia because he believed he could make a difference. He brought experience, expertise and a genuine commitment to saving lives. His own words make clear that he was trying to do his job without knowing what the administration’s policy actually was or having a meaningful relationship with the governor.”
Pushkin also expressed admiration for Dr. Loyd and defended his efforts to address the state’s substance-use crisis.
“I have tremendous respect for Dr. Loyd and for the work he has done on behalf of West Virginians,” Pushkin said. “The responsibility for establishing a clear direction and ensuring that the people charged with carrying it out are empowered to do their jobs ultimately rests with the governor. Dr. Loyd’s medical background, combined with his personal experience and deep understanding of the addiction crisis, made him uniquely suited to lead the Office of Drug Control Policy. Governor Morrisey will be hard-pressed to find someone with the same combination of professional expertise, lived experience, and commitment to replace him.”
West Virginia continues to face one of the nation’s most severe overdose crises. CDC data show that West Virginia had the nation’s highest age-adjusted drug overdose death rate in 2023, at 81.9 deaths per 100,000 people. More recent data show that overdose deaths have declined, including a reported 12% decline in 2025.
“Any reduction in overdose deaths is welcome news, because every life saved matters,” Pushkin said. “And Dr. Loyd himself deserves credit for the work he and others did to help achieve that progress. But a decline in deaths does not eliminate the need for leadership, coordination and a clearly articulated strategy.”
Governor Morrisey comes to this issue with his own long history in the pharmaceutical industry. As The Charleston Gazette-Mail has reported, before taking office, he worked as a lawyer and lobbyist for major pharmaceutical interests, including the trade association representing drug distributors such as Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen—companies that later faced extensive litigation over the enormous volume of prescription opioids shipped into West Virginia.
That history makes the Governor’s handling of West Virginia’s drug crisis—and his choice of who will replace Dr. Loyd—particularly consequential.
"In a state that has suffered so terribly from addiction and overdose, we need a governor who can clearly define his administration’s drug and recovery policy — and then communicate that policy to the people responsible for carrying it out,” Pushkin continued. “We need to know what the goals are, how we intend to reach them, how our resources will be deployed and who is accountable for delivering results.”
“Dr. Loyd’s resignation should be a wake-up call. West Virginia cannot afford to have its drug czar saying, after two years on the job, that he tried to find out what the administration’s policy was but never learned it. The stakes are simply too high.”
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