In the News

  • patch.com: Monmouth County Towns With the Most Heroin

    Posted 12/1/2015

    Ocean County leads the state with the most admissions for heroin treatment in 2014, followed by Essex County. Unfortunately, Monmouth County was right behind, ranking third in the state for people needing heroin treatment, according to data from the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

  • PREVENT OPIATE ABUSE URGES ADOPTION OF LEGISLATION REQUIRING PRESCRIBERS TO WARN PARENTS OF ADDICTION RISKS BEFORE PRESCRIBING OPIATES

    Posted 11/25/2015

    Prevent Opiate Abuse today urged the speedy adoption of the Parent Notification Bill (A4760) introduced this week by Assemblyman Joseph A. Lagana (D-38).

  • courierpostonline.com: COMMENTARY: Legal marijuana not the answer

    Posted 11/25/2015

    The lessons being learned in Colorado make it clear that legalizing marijuana is a dangerous proposal that will negatively affect the health and wellness of New Jersey residents. Legalization of medical and recreational marijuana has caused youth to develop low perceptions of risk towards marijuana use.

  • njtoday.net: Shout Down Drugs competition looking for talented high school students

    Posted 11/23/2015

    The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) Shout Down Drugs is sponsoring a competition featuring substance abuse prevention music and song writing in a contest looking for talented high school students to create and perform original peer-to-peer substance abuse prevention songs.

  • latimes.com: Macklemore Debuts New Song at AMAs With Opiate Prevention-based Lyrics

    Posted 11/23/2015

    "...as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis showed with the timely same-sex marriage-supporting anthem "Same Love," the duo carried in its lyrics a vein of social consciousness, and that's the well they drew from with the new song "Kevin," which presumably comes from a still-untitled follow-up album..."

  • NYTimes.com: Heroin, Survivor of War on Drugs, Returns With New Face

    Posted 11/22/2015

    Nearly 44,000 Americans a year — 120 a day — now die of drug overdoses. Neither traffic accidents nor gun violence, each claiming 30,000-plus lives a year, causes so much ruination. The annual drug toll is six times the total of American deaths in all wars since Vietnam.

  • nj.com: N.J. youth overdose rate soars to sixth-highest in U.S.

    Posted 11/20/2015

    New Jersey is one of only two states nationwide to score a perfect 10 for having laws and regulations associated with preventing and reducing teen substance abuse, but the state also has the sixth-highest teen overdose rate, a new study finds.

  • New Jersey Families Touched by Opiate Abuse Gather to Make Changes to Legislation

    Posted 11/20/2015

    TEANECK, NJ --- Families who have been touched by opiate abuse came from across the state of New Jersey to gather on Friday, November 20, 2015. Over 150 people participated in a breakfast hosted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe.

  • app.com - Bill: Make doctors prescribing opioids talk to parents about addiction

    Posted 11/18/2015

    Advocates underscoring the dangers of opioids and heroin are pushing for the adoption of a bill in the state Assembly that would require doctors and others prescribing opioids to minors to warn parents about the dangers of addiction. The bill, A4760 sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Lagana, D-Bergen, was introduced Monday and referred to the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee. It also would require prescribers to advise the parents of any alternatives to opioids.

  • newjerseyhills.com: EDITORIAL: Take the 'American Medicine Chest Challenge'

    Posted 11/5/2015

    According to PDFNJ, prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in our country. The 2007 National Study of Drug Use and Health found that 70 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers indicated they got them from friends or relatives, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse reports that upwards of 9 million people use prescription medication for non-medical uses.