Opioid epidemic in NJ Shoots Up Overdose Fatalities [REPORT]

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New Jersey, the forth smallest state and the most densely populated of the 50 states of America, has already 1,587 cases of death by drug overdose this year, while the opioid epidemic continues to spread across the state.

Recently, the state Medical Examiner's office reported that deaths arising from drug overdose in New Jersey increased to 22 percent of last year largely due to opioids containing heroin and fentanyl.

According to Women Free Time, there are already 6,000 people who died due to heroin since 2004 in New Jersey. However, fentanyl, contributed a total of 417 deaths on record, more than eight times in just two years.

Attorney General Christopher Porrino explains, "this spike in fentanyl death starkly illustrates the tremendous challenge we face to stem the alarming growth in opioid abuse in New Jersey and across the nation." Also, he added that, "Drug abuse today often takes the form of tragic progression from prescription painkillers, to the cheaper alternatives to a deadly dose of fentanyl frequently disguised as or mixer with less potent."

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used for medication and is one of the strongest opiate drugs in the market, 50 times stronger than street heroine. It is often used for surgery recovery and for breakthrough pain.

Because of Fentanyl's high potency in relieving pain, it is highly dangerous when used outside hospital setting. The difference between a therapeutic dose and a deadly dose are very small.

While opioid crisis is increasing across the state and fatalities of drug abuse are rising, government officials in Philadelphia City have already voted aiming to control and reduce death tolls. However, the solutions seem out of hand.

According to The Inquirer Daily News, Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Garry Tennis said, "I know that 2016 is going to substantially exceed 2015." Tennis also added, "The prescribing of painkillers like Percocet and OxyContin, which can lead some patients to become addicted and turn to far cheaper heroin, still has not been brought under control and treatment programs are vastly underfunded. Addiction in rising, not failing."

Moreover, there are 23 percent increase in deaths in Pennsylvania and overdoses having been rising annually for decades while number of states had also experienced plateaus in drug deaths that turned out to be temporary.

In Philadelphia, less than three weeks earlier, police reported several dozens of people overdosed in an 18-hour period. And recently, a batch of heroin that was sold has caused nine suspected drug-overdose deaths in just 36 hours.

The crisis on drugs are getting worse every year and fatalities are rising across the state. "However, the underlying reasons behind the rising fatalities are even more dangerous", Dr. Louis E. Baxter, addiction consultant to the state of New Jersey, said.

"The problem is primarily access to the treatment. Many people that require treatment do not get it and many insurance companies will not cover physician office visits to medications that can prevent the relapse." Baxter added.

Despite the increase in drug-abuse fatalities in New Jersey, it is still likely to remain below average in the yet-to-be-released federal data.