CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Monday is International Overdose Awareness Day.
The West Virginia First Foundation, the organization charged with distributing about $1 billion in opioid settlement funds to programs in the Mountain State, said Monday is a time to remember those who have been lost to overdose along with honoring their families.
“Every life lost to overdose leaves a hole in a family, a community, and our state,” WVFF Board Chairman Greg Duckworth said. “International Overdose Awareness Day is about remembering those we’ve lost while renewing our commitment to those who are still fighting. While there is still work ahead, we know lives are being changed because people have chosen to stand together.”
The WVFF said by the end of this year it will have invested nearly $50 million in prevention, treatment and recovery efforts in West Virginia.
West Virginia has seen a dramatic drop in overdose deaths in recent years
State Office of Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Stephen Loyd spoke with state lawmakers last month at interim committee meetings. He highlighted a 41.6% decline in overdose deaths from pre-pandemic levels and a 44.2% reduction in neonatal abstinence syndrome rates.
Loyd noted that West Virginia had the highest overdose death rate in 2021 but is now outpacing the national average in overdose reduction.
The overdose reversal drug Narcan has been made widely available in the Mountain State in recent years.