Drug Situation: Largely rural, West Virginia's most pronounced drug problems involve the abuse and clandestine manufacture of methamphetamine, marijuana consumption and cultivation, and pharmaceutical drug diversion and abuse. Cocaine, crack, and MDMA are available in most areas of the state. Drug distributors in West Virginia are uniquely placed to take advantage of sources of supply from both nearby eastern cities like Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC, as well as large mid-western cities such as Columbus, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. Cocaine: Cocaine hydrochloride and crack cocaine are widely available in most West Virginia cities. Crack cocaine abuse generally remains confined to low and low-middle income individuals, but crosses all ethnic lines. Rural communities have been drastically affected by crack distribution and accompanying violence. Cocaine availability is limited to large-retail or small-wholesale quantities. Source areas for cocaine are more varied than for other drugs consumed in the state and are largely based on the trafficker's location within West Virginia. Heroin: Heroin abuse in the central and northern parts of West Virginia increased during 2008. Enclaves of long-term heroin addicts rely on one another to procure supplies of heroin from secondary source cities such as Philadelphia and Baltimore. The heroin sold in West Virginia typically retains the street/brand name and packaging of the Philadelphia or Baltimore-area supplier. Methamphetamine: Clandestine methamphetamine laboratory activity in West Virginia, which has been very high, decreased as a result of state and Federal laws regulating the sale of precursors. Previously, methamphetamine manufacture appeared to be centered in the Panhandle region of the state, but has expanded to include other areas of northern West Virginia as well as some clandestine laboratory sites in the southeastern portion of the state bordering Kentucky and Virginia. In addition, methamphetamine distributors in West Virginia often share Mexican sources of supply with distributors in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley region. Club Drugs: MDMA abuse in West Virginia remains fairly concentrated near Morgantown, the location of West Virginia University. Demand for MDMA in college towns is sufficient to ensure that thousands of the pills reach West Virginia every month. Because of West Virginia's remote terrain, the area is purported to host numerous private "rave" parties but attendance at large-scale, publicized raves has been disappointing to promoters. Marijuana: Both imported and domestic, locally-cultivated marijuana pose a serious drug threat in West Virginia. Although the state ranks 37th in population in the U.S., in 2008 West Virginia ranked in the top five states for marijuana eradication. West Virginia commonly serves as a source area for domestic marijuana. The Appalachia HIDTA was established initially to combat marijuana cultivation in the tri-state area - Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia - although that mission has expanded. However, Mexican commercial grade marijuana is still more prevalent than domestically cultivated marijuana in West Virginia. Pharmaceutical Diversion: Current investigations indicate that diversion of oxycodone and hydrocodone products, as well as methadone and Alprazolam, continues to be a problem in West Virginia. Primary methods of diversion being reported are illegal sale and distribution by health care professionals and workers, “doctor shopping” (going to a number of doctors to obtain prescriptions for a controlled pharmaceutical), employee theft, forged prescriptions, and the Internet. Suboxone and Carisoprodol were identified as being new drugs of pharmaceutical abuse in West Virginia. West Virginia leads the nation in methadone-related deaths per capita, and has the fastest-growing rate of methadone overdoses. Enforcement Initiatives: The Appalachia HIDTA provides support to enforcement initiatives in the southern region of the state. More information about the Washington Division Office. Factsheet last updated: 3/2009 |