Over the past five years, nearly 2,900 West Virginians have died after overdosing on prescription painkillers or heroin, according to new data released by the state Health Statistics Center.
Last year, overdose deaths caused by prescription narcotics and heroin were the highest they've been since 2011. This year's deaths are on pace to set a record.
"The tidal wave of substance abuse has crashed here in our mountains in a tragically profound way," said Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, a retired pharmacist.
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama plans to come to Charleston, where he'll hold a forum about the prescription drug and heroin abuse problem that has devastated West Virginia and other states. The president will talk with educators, law enforcement officers, health care professionals and others fighting to curb the epidemic. The White House has yet to announce the time and location for the event.
West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the nation, with nearly 34 deaths per 100,000 people. That's more than twice the national average.
Heroin and prescription pain pills, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, caused nearly 90 percent of those drug overdose deaths since 2011, according to the Health Statistics Center data.
Delegate Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, said the drug epidemic is crippling West Virginia's economy. West Virginia has the lowest workforce participation rate in the nation. Many potential workers struggle to pass drug tests, according to business leaders.
"With this degree of addiction in our workforce, we just cannot move ahead economically until we get this problem under control," said Rohrbach, a doctor in Huntington. "You cannot be two or three times the rate of substance abuse compared to the rest of the nation and get businesses to move here. It's just not going to happen."
The Health Statistics Center data shows that overdose deaths caused by most prescription painkillers have leveled off or decreased slightly. Over the past two years, state and federal regulators, along with law enforcement officers, have cracked down on rogue pain-management clinics, unscrupulous doctors and "pill mill" pharmacies that sprouted across the state a decade ago.
But there's an unintended consequence: West Virginia's heroin problem has increased significantly. Heroin overdose deaths quadrupled between 2011 and last year. And the state stands to lose about 180 people this year to heroin-related deaths.
Cabell County has been hit hardest by the heroin epidemic, prompting health officials to start needle-exchange programs and open additional drug treatment facilities. Ohio County also has started a program, and Kanawha County health officials are making plans for one.
"There's been a tremendous public awareness campaign that has helped immensely to get people aware of the magnitude of this problem and to seek solutions," Rohrbach said. "I applaud the president for coming here and helping to raise awareness of the problem."
There's one prescription painkiller that's causing a dramatic increase in Mountain State deaths: fentanyl. Doctors typically prescribe the drug in a patch that's applied directly to a patient's skin. Fentanyl also comes in a pill form or as a lozenge. It's also being laced with heroin and injected, according to law enforcement officers. The combination can be deadly.
Through June, nearly 90 West Virginians have died of overdoses caused by fentanyl. At that pace, more than five times as many people will die from fentanyl overdoses by year's end than in 2012.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta said he has received reports that criminals are manufacturing fentanyl in clandestine labs.
"It's a nationwide concern," Gupta said. "Some of this fentanyl out there is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine and heroin. Those fentanyl [overdose] cases we're seeing may be playing an even larger role than the heroin in causing the deaths."
The Health Statistics Center compiles its drug overdose data from death certificates certified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The overwhelming majority of overdose deaths involve combinations of multiple drugs.
Since 2010, 2,876 people have died in West Virginia after taking opiates - the medical name for prescription painkillers and heroin. That number rises to 3,333 - or about 600 victims a year - when you include deaths caused by other prescription medications and illicit drugs, like cocaine, that aren't classified as opiates.
Rohrbach said he plans to introduce multiple bills to curb West Virginia's prescription drug and heroin epidemic. He said he has support from fellow lawmakers. Almost 300 opiate-related overdose deaths have already been reported this year.
"This is a statewide problem," Rohrbach said. "We're going to have a major push to hammer this thing from all different angles. We're not going to end substance abuse, but we can't continue at the rate we're going."
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.