Drug Rehabs in Charleston, WV

Drug And Alcohol Addiction In Charleston, West Virginia

Situated in Kanawha County, Charleston is the state capital and most populous city in West Virginia. Charleston is currently suffering from large amounts of drug abuse, particularly concerning Opioids and Methamphetamine. Additionally, one of the nation’s highest spike of HIV cases related to intravenous drug use is clustered around the city of Charleston. This surge may be correlated to the cancellation of needle exchange programs in the area in 2018.

The nonprofit organization Solutions Oriented Addiction Response (SOAR), first founded to tackle the Opioid epidemic, provides individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD) with clean needles in Charleston. They also share information about HIV testing with residents. Multiple treatment facilities and support groups are available within the Charlestown area if you or a loved one is considering treatment.

Opioid And Heroin Abuse In Charleston

West Virginia has the highest drug overdose rate in the nation, with nearly 34 deaths per 100,000 people. That is more than twice the national average. According to the Health Statistics Center, nearly 90% of those overdose deaths were caused by Heroin and prescription Opioid medications, such as Oxycodone and Hydrocodone. In response to these staggering statistics, state and federal regulators, along with local Charleston law enforcement, cracked down on pain management clinics, doctors, and “pill mill” pharmacies that were dispensing Opioids without a legitimate medical reason. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources additionally implemented the Opioid Reduction Act, which restricts the number of Opioids that physicians can prescribe for acute pain.

As prescription Opioids have become less available, West Virginia’s Heroin problem has significantly increased. Heroin is an extremely potent drug that is a cheaper alternative to Opioid medications and offers a similar high. Additionally, local Heroin is being laced with Fentanyl and injected by unsuspecting users, increasing chances of overdose and negative health consequences. The CDC identified Kanawha County as one of the 220 counties throughout the nation at particular risk for HIV and Hepatitis C due to Heroin and illicit drug use. In 2016, Kanawha County led the state in number of people diagnosed with HIV.

Numbers show that Opioid use is slowly declining within the city of Charleston; however, those same dealers within the area are now starting to replace their Opiate supplies with Meth.

The Recurring Threat Of Meth

Officials say the number of Methamphetamine cases in West Virginia is making a tremendous and deadly comeback. Meth is no longer being produced in household labs like it once was in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Instead, Meth is now being outsourced by huge, “superlabs” in Mexico and China and then carted into the state. Mexican and Asian cartels are able to mass produce a purer and more dangerous form of Meth, resulting in higher addiction rates for consumers. The rise of such high purity Meth has also led to an increase of Meth-related overdoses within the state. According to the West Virginia Health Statistics Center, overdose deaths related to Methamphetamine have increased by 500% in just the last four years.

In 2018, police officers seized more than 15,000 grams of Crystal Meth. The Charleston Police Department reported that they seized more Meth than Heroin or any other drug in Kanawha County during the year of 2018.

Over the past four to five years, there’s been an increase of Crystal Meth and a decrease of illicit Opioids, and it continues to follow that trend. Meth has become the most prominent drug we see more than anything else at this point.

Most of the Meth in Charleston is being imported from cities like Atlanta, Dayton, and Detroit. In response to the increasingly high trafficking rates, the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) is now concentrating on cutting off supplies from these cities in an effort to reduce the threat of Meth in the West Virginia area.

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Substance Abuse Statistics In Charleston

Finding Treatment In Charleston

If you’re someone struggling with addiction in the Charleston area, know that you’re not alone and that there are options available to you. Rehab centers provide extensive recovery programs for alcohol and drug addictions that include individual counseling, detoxification, and relapse prevention services. Contact a treatment provider to learn more about your options today.