Fatal drug overdoses in western Va. break record
Wednesday - 11/14/2012, 1:54pm ET
WYTHEVILLE, Va. - Western Virginia's death toll from drug overdoses hit a record 270 fatalities in 2011.
That's more than three times the annual rate during the late 1990s.
The Roanoke Times ( http://bit.ly/SnxH8i) reports that Dr. Paul Benson with the state medical examiner's office presented the figures Wednesday during a prescription drug abuse summit in Wytheville.
A majority of fatal overdoses involved prescription drugs. Cocaine and other street drugs accounted for the other deaths.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com
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