Teen Dies After Using Fentanyl Tainted Marijuana; Overdose Deaths Up in the Panhandle

OG article by Marsha Chwalik 

October 22, 2025

Overdose deaths in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, particularly Berkeley County, increased in September after a downward trend, attributed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, xylazine, medetomidine, and nitazine contaminating various drugs including marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

A 16-year-old girl died after smoking marijuana unknowingly laced with fentanyl, as reported by the Quick Response Team.

The Quick Response Team noted three confirmed overdose deaths at the start of September and is working to raise awareness through interactions following overdoses.

Community efforts like the rescheduled Save A Life Day event distributed 4,624 doses of Narcan and provided free drug test strips via a no-questions-asked takeaway system to help prevent overdoses and connect users to recovery resources.