West Virginia per year, with 1,400 of those statistically attributed to deaths from heart, respiratory and kidney disease from living in an Appalachian coal county. In 2015, McDowell County had the highest rate of drug-induced deaths of any county in the United States, with a rate of 141 deaths per 100,000 people. Four of the five US counties with the highest rates of drug-induced deaths are located in West Virginia (McDowell, Wyoming, Cabell and Raleigh Counties). West Virginia's capital and seat of government is the city of Charleston, located in the southwest area of the state. The West Virginia Legislature is bicameral.
West Virginia State Police West Virginia State Police The West Virginia State Police is a state law enforcement agency in the United States that provides police services to the residents of West Virginia. It is the fourth oldest state police agency and was created in the second extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature on June 19, 1919 as a result of uprisings surrounding organized labor in the coal and mine industries. Governor John Jacob Cornwell was insistent upon having a State Police force which he said, "was mandatory in order for him to uphold the laws of our state." Part of the compromise