The number of potentially addictive prescription drugs dispensed by West Virginia pharmacies dropped by 31 million in 2017, the sharpest decline in a single year since the state started tracking such powerful medications.

Controlled substances – which include prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medications and amphetamines – declined by 12 percent between 2016 and last year, according to the state Board of Pharmacy’s annual report.

Hydrocodone — sold under brand names like Vicodin and Lortab — remained the most-prescribed pain medication, but the number of pills dispensed dropped by 8.4 million tablets. Oxycodone numbers decreased by 9.3 million.

Media reports, investigations and a barrage of lawsuits against drug companies, pharmacies and doctors have raised awareness about prescription narcotics and overdose deaths, said Mike Goff, acting executive director of the West Virginia pharmacy board.

“There’s been more scrutiny by everyone,” Goff said.

Goff’s agency also has been notifying doctors and pharmacists about overdose deaths.

“So if one of these drugs is listed as the cause of death, now we’re sending letters out to the doctors who wrote the prescriptions and to the pharmacies who filled the prescriptions, just letting them know the patient died,” Goff said.

The pharmacy board also alerts medical licensing boards about possible over-prescribing, if a medical professional is linked to a large number of overdose deaths.

“There’s been more utilization of information from the practitioners,” Goff said. “If we see some unusual activities by doctors and pharmacies, where they’re filling a bunch of odd things or writing a bunch of prescriptions, we have the ability to notify the licensing boards,” Goff said. “We’re using the data more.”

The numbers of just two controlled drugs – amphetamines and buprenorphine – increased between 2016 and last year. Buprenorphine, a drug used to treat people addicted to heroin and prescription opioids, jumped by 1 million doses.

Overall, however, controlled substances declined from 267.2 million to 235.9 million doses.

The bill (SB 2) would limit initial prescriptions to a seven-day supply for short-term pain.

The proposed pain-pill prescription limit would not apply to cancer and hospice patients.

If the bill passes, West Virginia would join about two-dozen states that have set limits on opioid prescriptions for acute pain, such as caused by a tooth extraction or ankle sprain.

In 2016, 884 people fatally overdosed on drugs in West Virginia. That was the highest drug overdose death rate of any state.

Heroin- and fentanyl-related overdose deaths were most common, but recent data has shown that many of those who overdosed had a prescription for an opioid painkiller within the previous year.

Illegal methamphetamine- and cocaine-related overdose deaths also have increased significantly over the past year. A final count of 2017 fatal overdoses isn’t expected until May.