FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2024

Contact: Lisa Batitto, news@drugfreenj.org

Webinar to Highlight Emerging Trends Within the Opioid Epidemic

PDFNJ, NJ Attorney General’s Office and OEFA to Host Second Webinar

MILLBURN ­ New Jersey experts will discuss new trends of substance use within the current opioid crisis in the second webinar of the 2024 Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day Learning Series, a collaboration of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ), the Office of the New Jersey Coordinator for Addiction Responses and Enforcement Strategies (NJ CARES) and the Opioid Education Foundation of America (OEFA).

“Emerging Threats Within the Opioid Crisis,” will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 29, and will feature presentations by Dr. Matthew Salzman, medical director of the Addiction Medicine Consult Liaison Service with Cooper University Health Care; and Bruce Ruck, Pharm.D., managing director and director of Drug Information and Professional Education with the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES).

The webinar will highlight the emergence of xylazine and tianeptine in overdoses throughout the state. Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” is a non-opiate sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant only authorized in the United States for veterinary use according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It has been present in combination with other substances in many overdose deaths.

Tianeptine has been identified in several poisoning cases in the past year. It has not been approved in the United States for any medical use, but it is “inaccurately marketed as a safer alternative to opioids and can have opioid-like effects,” according to NJPIES.

“We continue to make progress in the fight against the opioid epidemic, but unfortunately new dangerous substances are emerging in tandem with prescription opioids and fentanyl,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said. “This webinar will provide attendees with the necessary knowledge to recognize the effects of xylazine and tianeptine and help create better awareness to address their recent emergence.”

PDFNJ hosts the series in collaboration with OEFA and NJ CARES, which is responsible for overseeing addiction-fighting efforts across the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and has focused on educating the community on various topics related to prevention, treatment and recovery.

The Learning Series has grown each year since it was created in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with attendance reaching nearly 10,000 attendees in 2023. Participants have learned from experts from a wide range of backgrounds and expertise, including representatives of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the New Jersey Department of Health, the Drug Enforcement Administration, as well as many universities and state and local organizations involved in the fight against the opioid epidemic. Speakers have included New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Regional Director Dr. Dara Kass and award-winning author Sam Quinones.

The 2024 Learning Series launched on January 25 with an overview of the opioid epidemic presented by Dr. Lewis Nelson, chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; and Captain Jason Piotrowski, executive officer of the New Jersey State Police’s Forensic and Technical Services Section.

The series is a branch of PDFNJ’s Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day statewide initiative, which has been held annually on October 6 since 2016 to educate residents and prescribers on the risks of prescription opioids and to raise awareness of the opioid crisis throughout the state.

To learn more about Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day and for a schedule of webinars, please visit knockoutday.drugfreenj.org.

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Best known for its statewide anti-drug advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception the Partnership has garnered 226 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.