Drug overdose deaths in Southwest Virginia eclipse rest of state

Southwest Virginia holds the state record for drug overdoses for 2005, much of it (over 90%) caused by prescription drugs such as OxyContin and methadone. To quote, "The deaths tripled between 1993 and 2003, jumping from 66 to 217, the study by the department’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported...Some counties had overdose death rates that beat out Richmond’s by 300 to 600 percent. Russell County had the highest death rate for its population – 14 deaths in 2003, for an average of 48.5 per 100,000 people." Lee County was #3, Wise County #5, and Tazewell County #12. The devastation cut across all members of the family from children to parents. To quote,

"The drugs involved in the Southwest Virginia deaths may not be the ones many people think about. All these drugs are dangerous. Any of them can kill you if they’re used improperly...(26.8 percent – were known to be using their own prescriptions)...But some of these overdose victims were not using their own prescriptions." The average drug user, particularly on methadone, overdosed on a combination of two or three drugs, the study found. Valium, oxycodone and Xanax were among the most common. A Dr. Dreyzehner said that "tendency might stem from the slow-acting nature of methadone."

According to the press the average drug user was "a 37-year-old man with a history of drug abuse and treatment for pain, chronic illness or mental problems. Nearly one-fourth worked in jobs such as construction or coal mining." Quoting public officials, "I’m coming to the opinion that the culture of disability in our region is a factor in this drug use. When people are disabled, they have time on their hands, they frequently need medical care, and they frequently have access to medical care. With disability often go poverty and lack of political opportunity. Some people will turn to drugs to fill what may be missing pieces of their lives."

The solution, more of the usual education hype.

Ref. January 6, 2005 BHC extract with comments.

Also see Methamphetamine use on the rise, sheriff's official says and Another meth lab busted in Kingsport: TBI steps in