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May 14, 2020
A memorial calls into question Gods existence on April 20, 2017 in Huntington, West Virginia. – Huntington, the city in the northwest corner of West Virginia, bordering Kentucky, has been portrayed as the epicenter of the opioid crisis. On August 15, 2016, from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, 28 people in the city overdosed on heroin laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid far more powerful and dangerous than heroin. The economic incentives are powerful: one kilogram of fentanyl costs $5,000, which can make a million tablets sold at $20 each for a gain of $20 million. “This epidemic doesn’t discriminate,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said. “Our youngest overdose was 12 years old. The oldest was 77.” (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Heather SCOTT, US-health-drugs-WestVirginia (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)