Funding a Good Start to Address Opioid Epidemic

Last Friday, I had the honor to join Senator Bob Menendez for a press conference in Elizabeth to discuss the importance of $6 billion in federal funding that will be used to address the opioid crisis.

In 2016, more than 2,200 people in New Jersey died from a drug overdose, about 1,900 of which were opioid-related. That means that every day, five new families in New Jersey grieved the loss of a son or daughter, a mother or father, a brother or sister.

As the crisis has worsened in the past few years, there has been a consistent cry for help for funding to provide treatment, recovery support and prevention to keep other families from experiencing the same tragedies that too many have already endured throughout the country.

Thanks to the efforts of Senator Menendez and his colleagues in Washington, this appropriation of funds is a positive step to face the opioid epidemic head-on.

Education will continue to play an important role in preventing further substance use and addiction. The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey will do its part by continuing the Knock Out Opioid Abuse Town Hall Series in collaboration with The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey.

Upcoming town halls are scheduled in Cape May County (April 19), Hudson County (April 24), Passaic County (May 3), Hunterdon County (May 9) and Mercer County (May 23). Residents in each of these counties are encouraged to join the conversation on the opioid crisis to gain a better understanding of the dangers of prescription opioids and their link to the use of heroin.

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