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West Virginia


Drug-related deaths reported to DAWN 424
Drug-related suicide deaths reported to DAWN 47
State population, 2009 1,819,777
Population covered by DAWN 1,819,777
Percent of population covered by DAWN 100%

State overview: Deaths and population by county, 2009
County Drug-related Drug-related suicide Population
Deaths Rate Deaths Rate
Total participating (55) 424 23.3 47 2.6 1,819,777
1. Barbour County 3 19.0 1 6.3 15,758
2. Berkeley County 32 30.8 1 1.0 103,854
3. Boone County 8 32.4 1 4.0 24,709
4. Braxton County 3 20.8 1 6.9 14,434
5. Brooke County 10 42.5 1 4.3 23,509
6. Cabell County 29 30.5 3 3.2 95,214
7. Calhoun County 3 42.1 0 0.0 7,118
8. Clay County 3 29.9 0 0.0 10,022
9. Doddridge County 0 0.0 0 0.0 7,202
10. Fayette County 12 26.0 0 0.0 46,123
11. Gilmer County 2 29.3 0 0.0 6,824
12. Grant County 4 33.8 0 0.0 11,833
13. Greenbrier County 5 14.5 0 0.0 34,527
14. Hampshire County 2 8.8 2 8.8 22,695
15. Hancock County 4 13.5 2 6.7 29,729
16. Hardy County 6 44.1 0 0.0 13,611
17. Harrison County 14 20.3 1 1.5 68,911
18. Jackson County 4 14.3 0 0.0 28,067
19. Jefferson County 13 24.6 2 3.8 52,750
20. Kanawha County 50 26.1 6 3.1 191,663
21. Lewis County 3 17.3 0 0.0 17,391
22. Lincoln County 0 0.0 2 9.0 22,147
23. Logan County 16 45.1 3 8.5 35,498
24. Marion County 6 10.6 0 0.0 56,706
25. Marshall County 6 18.4 0 0.0 32,556
26. Mason County 7 27.4 1 3.9 25,568
27. McDowell County 16 71.4 1 4.5 22,398
28. Mercer County 21 33.9 1 1.6 61,921
29. Mineral County 3 11.0 1 3.7 27,204
30. Mingo County 11 41.7 0 0.0 26,387
31. Monongalia County 15 16.7 2 2.2 90,080
32. Monroe County 2 14.6 1 7.3 13,715
33. Morgan County 3 18.3 0 0.0 16,385
34. Nicholas County 7 26.7 0 0.0 26,213
35. Ohio County 10 22.7 1 2.3 44,015
36. Pendleton County 0 0.0 0 0.0 7,390
37. Pleasants County 0 0.0 0 0.0 7,364
38. Pocahontas County 2 23.8 0 0.0 8,418
39. Preston County 3 9.9 0 0.0 30,247
40. Putnam County 3 5.4 1 1.8 55,673
41. Raleigh County 32 40.4 4 5.1 79,187
42. Randolph County 4 14.1 1 3.5 28,390
43. Ritchie County 0 0.0 0 0.0 10,208
44. Roane County 4 26.9 0 0.0 14,870
45. Summers County 1 7.6 0 0.0 13,081
46. Taylor County 1 6.1 2 12.2 16,328
47. Tucker County 0 0.0 0 0.0 6,812
48. Tyler County 3 34.6 0 0.0 8,680
49. Upshur County 0 0.0 0 0.0 23,806
50. Wayne County 8 19.5 0 0.0 41,119
51. Webster County 2 21.2 0 0.0 9,444
52. Wetzel County 3 18.5 0 0.0 16,226
53. Wirt County 0 0.0 0 0.0 5,605
54. Wood County 12 13.8 2 2.3 86,888
55. Wyoming County 13 55.8 3 12.9 23,304

Deaths by manner of death, 2009
Suicide 10.0%
Homicide 0.4%
Could not be determined 10.6%
Accidental 78.8%
Natural 0.2%

Top 5 drugs involved: Drug-related deaths, 2009
Drug category Single-drug deaths Multi-drug deaths Total
Opiates/opioids 37 313 350
Benzodiazepines 0 227 227
Alcohol 7 109 116
Antidepressants 1 80 81
Cocaine 6 50 56

Top 5 drugs involved: Drug-related suicide deaths, 2009
Drug category Single-drug deaths Multi-drug deaths Total
Opiates/opioids 3 17 20
Benzodiazepines 0 18 18
Antidepressants 1 14 15
Alcohol 0 12 12
Misc. anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics 2 6 8

Death rates by gender and age: Drug-related, 2009
Gender Deaths per 100,000 population
Male 31.8
Female 15.1

Age Deaths per 100,000 population
Under 21 4.3
21 to 34 37.1
35 to 54 47.0
55 and over 9.2

Death rates by gender and age: Drug-related suicide, 2009
Gender Deaths per 100,000 population
Male 3.6
Female 1.6

Age Deaths per 100,000 population
Under 21 *
21 to 34 5.3
35 to 54 3.6
55 and over 2.1

Place of death, 2009
Drug-related Deaths
Health care facility 128
Home 210
Public place 37
Other 49
Not documented 0

Drug-related suicide Deaths
Health care facility 9
Home 27
Public place 7
Other 4
Not documented 0

Drug-related deaths by drug category, 2008-2009
Drug category Drug-related Drug-related suicide
Deaths, 2008 Deaths, 2009 Single-drug deaths, 2009 Deaths, 2008 Deaths, 2009 Single-drug deaths, 2009
NOTES: Alcohol row includes alcohol in combination with other drugs (all ages) and alcohol alone in decedents under age 21. Club drugs row includes MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), and ketamine. Hallucinogens row includes PCP, LSD, and miscellaneous hallucinogens.
ALL DRUGS 463 424 58 38 47 11
Alcohol 124 116 7 17 12 0
Cocaine 79 56 6 * 7 *
Marijuana 9 4 0 * 0 0
Stimulants 4 * * 0 * 0
Club drugs 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hallucinogens 0 0 0 0 0 0
Inhalants * * * * 0 0
Antidepressants 81 81 * 15 15 *
Antipsychotics 12 4 0 * * *
Benzodiazepines 272 227 0 11 18 0
Misc. anxiolytics, sedatives, and hypnotics 38 48 0 9 8 *
Opiates/opioids 364 350 37 9 20 *
– Heroin (specified) 34 38 9 0 0 0
– Methadone 86 70 12 * * *
– All other opiates/opioids 269 278 16 7 17 *
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents 0 0 0 * 0 0
Salicylates/combinations * 0 0 0 0 0
Misc. analgesics/combinations 29 20 * 9 4 0
Anticonvulsants 14 6 0 * * *
Muscle relaxants 26 35 0 * * 0

End Notes
1. Drug-related deaths exclude suicides.
2. All death rates are per 100,000 population.
3. An asterisk (*) signifies that a small number of deaths was suppressed to protect privacy.
SOURCE: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, SAMHSA, Drug Abuse Warning Network, 2009.