Boone County, West Virginia was the county with the largest increase, 8369.7%, in deaths due to drug overdose followed by Wyoming County, West Virginia which saw a rise of 6973.1%. In addition to West Virginia, many of the regions that saw the biggest jumps are familiar from stories about the nation's raging opioid epidemic. Counties in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and eastern Oklahoma saw the greatest increases in drug deaths: more than a 5,000% increase.

As many as 1 in 4 people who receive prescription opioids long term for noncancer pain in primary care settings struggles with addiction.

• In 2012, 259 million prescriptions were written for opioids, which is more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills.7
• Four in five new heroin users started out misusing prescription painkillers.8
• 94% of respondents in a 2014 survey of people in treatment for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “far more expensive and harder to
obtain.”9

sjgusmc21 Unless someone held a gun to their heads and forced them to take it, this is on them.

Our society is very quick to place the blame on everything and everyone but not ourselves.

InvertedDude Gearhead
I am thankful I have the good Lord to keep my ass in line. I will never forget the moment my $8000 motorcycle that was paid off within a year totaled out. God told me as I was tumbling down the road, you need to stop living the life of a sinner. Your motorcycle has been destroyed as a punishment. I walked away with no scratches or bruises. It was a good 40 mph crash and the motorcycle flipped 5 times. I woke up and got my ass in line!