West Virginia Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs
Recent studies have shown that West Virginia has one of the highest rates of ongoing substance abuse and overdose deaths in the United States. Of these problems, most were attributed to opioid drugs and medications.
Today, a growing number of communities and residents have been grappling with these problems. As such, the state has tried to improve access to its rehabilitation and treatment centers to help more people overcome their substance use disorders and addictions while reducing their risk of suffering a fatal overdose in the process.
According to the DEA the Drug Enforcement Agency for instance, it is reported that 1 out of every 10 residents of this state continue struggling with one addiction or the other.
With such high numbers, it is clear that many communities, families, and individuals have been suffering from substance abuse and the adverse effects and consequences that tend to accompany it.
Substance Abuse Statistics for West Virginia
In 2009, a total of 6,070 people enrolled into addiction treatment and rehabilitation facilities in West Virginia. These numbers have been fluctuating over the years. In 2005, for instance, 6,383 people received such treatment while 7,642 people checked into similar facilities in 2006.
The same year, West Virginia had a total of 83 facilities providing substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation services. Of this number, 25 centers also had a component of care involving inpatient or residential rehabilitation while only about 8 facilities offered treatment for opioid use disorders.
That said, 42,000 residents of the state reported that they needed addiction treatment as a result of abusing illicit drugs opiates in particular in the 2005 to the 2006 period. However, these people did not get the treatment that they required.
Commonly Abused Substances in West Virginia
From 2005 to 2006, 8 percent of all residents which comes to about 123,000 people reported that they had used illicit drugs. These rates seem to have been climbing since then.
From 2001 to 2006, on the other hand, admissions into drug only treatment facilities increased from 29 percent to 34 percent by the end of the study period. During the same period, admissions into rehab centers for both drug and alcohol abuse increased from 8 percent to 31 percent.
But what are the most commonly abused substances in this state? Consider the following figures:
1. Alcohol
In 2009, 2,843 people enrolled into treatment and rehabilitation programs citing alcohol as their primary substance of abuse. An additional 318 people received similar treatment for a primary alcohol use disorder combined with another secondary substance use disorder.
2. Cocaine
Both cocaine and crack cocaine are increasingly available in most of West Virginia's cities. Even so, crack cocaine has been the main drug in most of its rural communities.
From 2005 to 2006, for instance, 2.6 percent of the population of the state about 40,000 residents reported that they had abused cocaine. At the same time, the state was ranked among the top 10 in terms of cocaine abuse by people between the ages of 18 and 25.
3. Heroin
In 2009, 181 people checked into addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers for abusing heroin. Even so, both the supply and the demand for this drug continues to be limited all through West Virginia. This fact causes heroin addicts to get their supplies of the drug from neighboring Baltimore and Philadelphia.
4. Marijuana
The rates of marijuana abuse, however, are quite high for this state. From 2005 to 2006, for instance, 9.12 percent of the entire population of West Virginia about 141,000 people reported that they had used this drug. In 2009, the state also admitted 661 people into its treatment and rehab centers for marijuana abuse, dependence, and addiction.
5. Methamphetamines
West Virginia continues grappling with a serious methamphetamine abuse problem. As such, both federal and state law enforcement regulations of the chemicals that are used to produce this drug have been reducing its manufacture across the state as well as elsewhere in the United States.
In 2009, for instance, only 68 people enrolled into addiction treatment and rehabilitation facilities in West Virginia citing an amphetamine dependence and addiction.
6. Other Opiates
For this state, prescription drugs continue to be a major problem for many people. To this end, it is not entirely surprising that many more people are being admitted into addiction treatment facilities for an opioid use disorder other than heroin than all other drugs apart from alcohol.
From 2006 to 2007, for instance, 150,000 residents used prescription medications for non-medical purposes. Some years later in 2009, a total of 1608 individuals checked into local rehabs for an opioid use disorder.
Statistics on Drug Courts, Injuries, and Fatalities in West Virginia
In 2008, opioids were blacklisted as the leading cause of drug related overdose deaths in the state. In fact, 93.2 percent of all fatalities arising from a drug overdose were linked to opioid drugs other than heroin. Of this number, only about 44 percent had a valid and legal prescription for the opioid medications that they had abused.
From 1999 to 2004, West Virginia experienced a 550 percent increase in the total number of people who suffered an overdose. As such, it is not surprising that the state had 3 functioning drug courts by 2007.
Even so, over 50 percent of all the drug cases that were tried in 2006 in this state involved crack cocaine. This was followed closely by powdered cocaine, which was in its turn followed by marijuana. From 1999 to 2004 also, West Virginia experienced a total increase of 550 percent in terms of the total number of people who had suffered an overdose.
In 2006, West Virginia lost 405 lives as a direct consequence of ongoing substance abuse. This was in stark comparison to the 429 lives it lost in motor vehicle accidents and the 267 people who died in incidents involving firearms the same year.
Local and state arrests for drug violations also numbered 4,100 the same year and also the DEA the Drug Enforcement Agency reported that it had made 113 similar arrests in 2007. The same year, it confiscated over 5.7 kilos of cocaine in West Virginia.
From 2005 to 2007, the incidents involving methamphetamine labs in the state decreased from 213 altercations to 40 by the end of the period. This provides evidence that enforcement has been successful in combating some of the drug menace linked to methamphetamine production in the state. Additionally, the DEA eradicated over 57,000 marijuana or cannabis plants in the state.
Even so, the CDC the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2016 that the highest rates of a drug overdose fatality in the United States were in West Virginia.
At a total of 52 deaths for every 100,000 people, the number was also found to be:
- Close to 33% higher than similar rates being experienced in Ohio which was ranked second with a total of 39.1 deaths for every 100,000 people
- Close to 163% higher than the total national average which was set at 19.8 deaths for every 100,000 people
The people who abuse intoxicating and mind altering substances in this state mostly focused on a wide variety of drugs like alcohol as well as illicit substances like methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine.
Residents of West Virginia have also reported that they abuse prescription medications such as opioid pain relief drugs (Vicodin and OxyContin), stimulant medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (like Ritalin and Adderall), and benzodiazepines like Xanax and Valium.
Although all of these substances might end up damaging the life of the user, the major drug related crisis in the state has been linked to opioid drugs like prescription pain relief medications, fentanyl, and heroin.
The Opioid Crisis in West Virginia
West Virginia is sometimes referred to as the ground zero or the starting point of the opioid epidemic that has been sweeping across the United States. In 2016, for instance, it showed the highest rates of overdose deaths linked to this class of drugs. Recent analysis estimates also put the cost of the opioid crisis to the local economy at more than $8.8 billion per year.
In 2016, for instance, West Virginia experienced the following:
- It lost 733 lives to an opioid related overdose
- At rates of 42.4 deaths for every 100,000 residents, these deaths had shot up by 2311 percent from similar figures in 1999
- The jump in the rates of overdose deaths linked to opioids in West Virginia is largely attributed to the increasing number of fatalities arising from synthetic opioids like fentanyl and heroin. From 2010, for instance,
- The number of fatalities involving synthetic opioids went up from 102 to close to 435 showing that they more than quadrupled
- The number of fatalities linked to heroin rose from some 28 deaths to a total of 235 fatalities
Addiction Prevention and Treatment in West Virginia
Some of the interventions that the state has instituted to quell its drug and alcohol menace include the West Virginia Opioid Response Plan and the West Virginia Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup.
If you are struggling with a substance use disorder, you should also know that West Virginia has a wide variety of comprehensive addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers that can help you find full recovery. Checking into any of these facilities is the first step you need to take to an ongoing journey that ends in abstinence, sobriety, and recovery from mind altering and intoxicating substances.
