HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The bad news is 2015 ended with more drug-related overdoses in Cabell County than the city of Huntington predicted. The good news is the city isn’t giving up.
There were more than 900 overdoses reported in Cabell County, with 70 resulting in death, said Jim Johnson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Drug Control Policy.
In the first few months of the year, the office predicted there would be more than 700 overdoses. That number changed in October, predicting more than 834 overdoses with 65 resulting in death.
The region has been battling an increase in heroin-related overdose deaths since the mid- to late-2000s. Experts worry a growing number of prescription drug addicts switch to heroin believing it represents a cheaper option to stave off withdrawal.
But doing so comes at high risk…