REPORT SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON SW VA. DRUG PROBLEM

Statistics released last week from health officials in Richmond put a face
on drug addiction and overdose deaths in Southwest Virginia.

Most of the victims are married white men. Their average age is 36, most
are overweight, and most have some high school education, according to the
data.

The Virginia Department of Health study concluded that drug overdose deaths
in Southwest Virginia are double or even triple those of major urban areas
in the commonwealth.

Nearly half of those who died unexpectedly died while under a doctor's care
and had been issued a prescription for the drug they overdosed on, the
report says.

Frontier Health President and CEO Doug Varney said this is a "scary" trend.

"It is interesting to have this kind of phenomenon occurring throughout the
entire Appalachian chain," Varney said. "I do think you have to look at the
access and availability to (the medications they overdosed on). Doctors
have to take the time to care enough for their patients, to educate them on
the dangers of the prescriptions they are giving them. They need to stress
what is therapeutic and what is harmful, and that includes pharmaceutical
companies. Education is critical, because this trend is scary."

Drug deaths in the region have been on an upward trend since 1997, climbing
from 67 deaths in 1997 to 217 in 2003.

The VDH study did note that 67 percent of the 168 people who died of an
overdose in 2003 had prior drug abuse problems, while 53 percent were being
treated medically for pain.

Almost 40 percent of the victims also had a history of mental or critical
illness.

Varney said the overdose victims in Appalachia are hard workers who work
off the land and under it.

Occupational injuries that come from mining coal, tilling the fields, or
collecting timber from mountainous forests can lead to injuries on the job,
doctor visits, and a prescription to relieve the pain.

"People come in with a legitimate medical problem and are prescribed a
drug. They become addicted, then they are not truthful with their doctor,"
Varney said.

"If that doctor refuses to refill the medication, that is when you get into
the problem of doctor shopping until they find a doctor to get the drug.
However, the situation is complex because it is so varied, and it is cultural.

"People say 'my doctor told me to do it, so it's OK.' The strategy has to
change because the trap begins with legitimate medical problems. If the
companies who make these narcotics are going to produce them on this scale,
they need to finance more of their revenues toward public education."

Varney applauded the health department for assembling the information
connected to a problem that he says will not go away unless the region
takes the initiative to take out the destructive patterns of drug addiction.

"This report is an issued challenge to all of us. Personal responsibility
has to be taken for our behavior. This is a region that comes together in
times of trouble. It is here," he said.