Overdoses remain an issue in NJ. This is how Bergen County officials are trying to help

With the opioid epidemic continuing to spread across the county, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office is issuing a warning to residents: You cannot trust drugs you buy on the street or even from friends.

Lt. Jen Rueda, a member of the narcotics unit in the Prosecutor's Office, said fentanyl is being mixed into more and more drugs, causing an increasing number of overdoses and fatalities. In the past, fentanyl was typically seen being mixed with heroin, but now the footprint is expanding.

"I would say in the last two years, we've seen fentanyl being mixed with pretty much everything," Rueda said. "When I say pretty much everything, I'm telling you ... we've seen cocaine mixed with fentanyl, we've seen oxycodone mixed with fentanyl, Adderall, Xanax. Every pill you can possibly imagine, they're making it fake with fentanyl."

An FDA-approved opioid used for pain relief, fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, Rueda said. A fatal dose of fentanyl is just 3 milligrams. What makes it dangerous is how powerful it is and that it's highly addictive.

Rueda used an example of a Splenda packet, noting that if it were fentanyl, the amount in one packet could kill over 300 people easily.

"It's very easy with just a gram of fentanyl," she said. "Imagine what 8 kilos would do."

The reason the opioid is rising in popularity is that it is cheap and made just outside the United States in Mexico, Rueda said. She said the cost is $50,000 for a kilo of heroin in New Jersey but only $15,000 for a similar amount of fentanyl.

According to data from the Prosecutor's Office, the numbers of reported overdoses and fatalities have mostly risen since officials began tracking data.

In 2015, there were 288 reported overdoses with a total of 87 deaths, and in 2022, there were 690 reported overdoses and at least 125 deaths. Elizabeth Rebein of the Prosecutor's Office said the state medical examiner has not confirmed its full reporting for the 2022 drug-related deaths.

There were more overdoses in 2021 than in 2022, at 730, and 189 reported deaths.

The Bergen County prosecutor's Narcotic Task Force has three squads that are working to combat drugs on the county's streets. The Criminal Interdiction Unit intercepts shipments of narcotics, seizing kilos of drugs like cocaine and fentanyl.

The Stash House Unit targets people moving drugs and storing them. Rueda said that often, the drugs are moved from networks in places like Paterson to safer locations in Bergen County.

She said finding a stash house in the middle of a beautiful high-rise can be common.

The Prosecutor's Office discovered a pill production operation in Rutherford after the people making the pills overdosed on their own product and had to call emergency services. When they arrived, they ended up having to call the county hazmat unit because there was fentanyl everywhere.

The third unit is the Undercover Unit, which buys pills from dealers. Rueda said there was recently a suspect who told an undercover cop that he was selling his oxycodone prescription, and when the pills were sent to the state lab, there was a mix of eight things including methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and xylazine.

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Rueda has spent 13 of her 18 years with the Prosecutor's Office in narcotics and has made hundreds of undercover purchases.

"Even with the training and experience I have, if you give me a real oxycodone pill or a fake one, I can't tell the difference," Rueda said. "And the public can't tell the difference."

The lieutenant said that when she first joined the Narcotic Task Force, it was more common to be scammed out of money when purchasing drugs, such as paying for ecstasy but receiving Excedrin.

"But now you're going wherever you're buying drugs hoping that you get X and it actually contains fentanyl and it's just going to kill you," Rueda said.

Xylazine has become another dangerous addition to drug mixtures. It is used for sedation in animals such as horses and cattle.

Rueda said not knowing that xylazine is mixed into a drug can be dangerous because it doesn't respond to Narcan.

"That is going to become a big issue now for us as they put more xylazine into whatever they're making," Rueda said. "It is going to be a big issue for first responders, for doctors, because when someone is overdosing, we use Narcan. That person is not going to respond to Narcan. We're not going to be able to save lives."

Carfentanil is another substance being seen added to drugs. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, it is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It is used in veterinary medicine to anesthetize animals including elephants and rhinos.

The county has recently begun investigating every fatal overdose, with Rueda noting that overdoses were typically attributed to heroin. She said they haven't seen just heroin in at least six months and that everything goes back to fentanyl.

Rueda said authorities are seeing more and more people overdose on cocaine, which was rare in the past. The lieutenant said cocaine is one of the "number one recreational drugs people use to party."

Five people overdosed, two of them dying, at the Skyview Motel in Fort Lee on Nov. 14 after doing cocaine that was laced with fentanyl, Rueda said.

Another group of people overdosed on cocaine at the Cheesecake Factory at The Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack, with two more dying in that case.

Rueda said there was another case in which someone overdosed on half a Xanax that was laced with fentanyl.

"There's a program that says one pill can kill you," Rueda said. "I really want to stress to people that half a pill can kill you. It's so potent. It's so powerful."

She said if a pill did not come through a doctor's prescription and from a pharmacy, do not touch it.

Operation Helping Hand

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office launched Operation Helping Hand in 2016. It was developed by Gurbir Grewal, who served as the Bergen County prosecutor and later state attorney general.

The program has helped local law enforcement link people who have addiction problems to treatment and recovery services.

Two years later, the state Department of Law & Public Safety expanded the program to include Union, Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties. It has further expanded to include all 21 counties in the state.

Rueda said the staff will approach people buying drugs in the open-air markets with the goal of not only seizing the drugs but also letting them know that help is available.

Rebein, the Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman, said the program evolved as people realized the office was out in the community with it.

Rueda said the program is identifying high-risk people, and officers dressed in plainclothes will visit them at their homes. The police will have a recovery specialist with them to offer support to those facing addiction problems and to provide resources to an individual's family, including leaving Narcan for them

"You'd be surprised to see how many people we've been able to connect and get help," Rueda said.

The lieutenant said not everyone is ready to accept help at that moment, but the workers return and bring more Narcan and offer the same support.

There is also a Bergen County Addiction Support hotline people may call or text to speak with a recovery specialist 24/7. It is easily searchable using #stoptheODs, said Rebein, who noted that a real person is on the other end of the line.

Anyone can call or text 201-589-2976 to get addiction services or support.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County NJ continues program to prevent drug overdoses