According to a study conducted by the Sunday Gazette Mail and West Virginia Public Broadcasting, There is a much higher liklihood that West Virginians will die from drug overdoses than in any other state.
Overdose is the leading cause of death in Virginia for adults under the age of 45. Higher than than car wrecks, heart attacks, or even cancer. That information has got police stepping up patrols to get the drugs out of the hands of drug dealers, and put those people behind bars.
State police have even recently signed an memo with the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy. As part of the Drug Diversion Unit, state police will be combating doctor shoppers, pill mills, and pharmacies that are illegally giving out medications. Police say that one of the reasons this is such a big problem is because prescription drugs are so easy for virtually anyone to obtain.
The Partnership/MetLife Foundation Parents Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) reveals a strong increase in parental awareness of the dangers of one of the most troubling and persistent trends in teen drug use – teen abuse of prescription medications. Experts suggest contacting a drug addiction treatment or drug rehab program for more information on over the counter drug abuse or for other drug rehab.
Here is a link to the full article http://www.stoprxdrugabuse.org/2007_Nov_3_Overdose_now_leading_death_for_West_Virginia.pdf
