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WV LEADS NATION IN ACCIDENTAL DEATHS - Drug Related Overdose Problem |
| (04/21/2015) |
| There were 130,557 accidental deaths in the United States in 2013. Drug poisonings and motor vehicle accidents were the two leading causes of unintentional deaths. West Virginia had the highest accidental death rate at 71.5 deaths per 100,000 residents, mostly related to drug overdose. Nearly 500 people died of drug overdoses in 2014, according to the state's Department of Health and Human Resources. New York had the lowest rate at 27.5 deaths per 100,000 residents. Motor vehicle accidents were the leading cause of accidental death in 18 states. In another 25 states, poisoning was the leading cause of accidental deaths, the vast majority of which were drug-related. Nearly all poison deaths in West Virginia were drug related. In a recent Gallup survey, more than 28% of state residents reported using mind-altering drugs to relax nearly every day, the highest proportion in the nation. Daily mind-altering drug use is not necessarily linked to deaths, but the high percentage is inline with the incidence of drug overdoses in the state, including what state officials are calling a heroin epidemic. In response to the growing heroin problem, lawmakers passed a bill in April that aims to provide counseling and emergency Heroin antidotes for responders. West Virginia State Police don't plan to have troopers carry naloxone, the drug that can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. Some police in counties with lots of deaths from overdoses are looking into carrying the drug. State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous wrote in an email that the agency has no plans to carry the drug because of the "uncertainty" of several factors, including cost and training. |
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