HOLDEN, W.Va.—One by one, Sammy Stafford lost three half-brothers to drug overdoses over the past eight years.
His is one of many families devastated by addiction in West Virginia, the epicenter of a nationwide fentanyl crisis.
West Virginia Coal Miner Describes Losing 3 Brothers to Drug Overdoses
At 54, Sammy Stafford has seen his mother and three siblings fall victim to the state’s opioid epidemic.
Coal miner Sammy Stafford near Holden, W. Va., on Aug. 15, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times
