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A social services center in Morgantown is the site of the first Narcan vending machine in the area.

Peter speaks to a grieving mother who lost her son to fentanyl, an EMT and the director of a sober living organization.

Peter speaks to a grieving mother who lost her son to fentanyl, an EMT and the director of a sober living organization.

West Virginia’s first Narcan vending machine recently opened in Morgantown as an effort to expand access to the lifesaving medication.

Narcan reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

After two successful Free Naloxone Days last year, the Monongalia County Quick Response Team will host a mini-event tomorrow to ensure students are prepared for spring break.

Editor’s Note: Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP), or visit findtreatment.gov.

Close In spite of a continually climbing rate of West Virginians dying from drug overdoses during the Covid-19 pandemic, Senate Bill 334, which Gov. Jim Justice signed into law earlier this month, drastically restricts harm reduction programs operating in the state. Steve Keenan/The Fayette Tribune West Virginia overdose deaths set new record amid pandemic New data shows at least 1,275 West Virginians died of an overdose in 2020 — a 45 percent increa...

Drug Overdose Deaths Spike in West Virginia By Drug overdose deaths have risen dramatically in West Virginia. Lauren Peace writing for Mountain State Spotlight reports, “New data shows at least 1,275 West Virginians died from an overdose in 2020—a 45 percent increase from 2019.” The state’s death toll had been leveling off from a previous high of 1,019 in 2017.  The number was down to 856 in 2018 and 870 in 2019, but now it has risen significantly. The final numbers are not yet avai...

This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. For more stories from Mountain State Spotlight, visit More West Virginians died of drug overdoses in 2020 than in any previous year on record, according to new data showing the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on the addiction crisis. At least West Virginians died of an overdose in 2020 — a 45% increase from the 878 deaths in 2019, according to the preliminary data. And because the data could still be updated, the actual number of...