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Read. Follow. Verify.West Virginia imposes excise tax on opioid manufacturers and distributors to fund addiction programs
Last action · February 17, 2026: To House FinanceSponsor: John Williams
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What This Bill Proposed
West Virginia House Bill 5672 imposes an on pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors selling opioid drugs and Schedule II substances to licensed state pharmacies, effective January 1st of each year. The tax rate is calculated as one cent per 100 pills multiplied by the number of state overdose deaths from the most recent year, with proceeds directed to the Ryan Brown Addiction Prevention and Recovery Fund.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors face a dynamic annual based on overdose mortality rates, while pharmacies must collect and remit these funds without passing the financial burden onto patients.
- The Ryan Brown Addiction Prevention and Recovery Fund was established under West Virginia code to support substance use disorder treatment and recovery infrastructure across the state. context
- Schedule II drugs are classified under state and federal law as having a high potential for abuse, with severe psychological or physical dependence risks. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors
Manufacturers and distributors are assessed an annual excise tax on all opioid and Schedule II drugs sold to state pharmacies.
licensed pharmacies in West Virginia
Pharmacies are required to collect the excise tax on applicable drug sales and periodically remit the funds to the Tax Commissioner without passing costs to patients.
patients
Patients are legally protected from bearing the cost of the excise tax, as manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies cannot pass it on to them.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for paying the new opioid excise tax?
How is the exact tax amount calculated each year?
Can pharmacies pass this tax cost on to patients?
Where do the collected tax revenues go?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 17, 2026HouseCommitteeTo House Finance
- Feb 17, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced in House
- Feb 17, 2026HouseCommitteeTo Finance
- Feb 17, 2026HouseIntroducedFiled for introduction
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mortality-Indexed Taxation Mechanism
The bill links tax rates dynamically to state public health statistics by tying excise tax amounts directly to annual overdose death counts.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wvlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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