This is why NJ needs a statewide opioid antidote coordinator — now | Opinion
It was recently reported that the Assembly Health Committee voted in favor of a bill, A-4237, that would create the position of “Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator” within the Department of Human Services. If enacted into law, this person would work with state and local government agencies and various nonprofits to coordinate a response and publicize where people can access the overdose reversing naloxone — brand name Narcan.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. , D-Burlington, a practicing physician, would ramp up the purchase, distribution, training and use of naloxone not only by first responders, but also in libraries, churches, food banks, shelters, fire stations and other public places — places where overdoses are happening every day, making life-saving naloxone administration possible at a time when seconds count. Monmouth County’s state Sen. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth, has introduced the identical bill in the state senate.
The need is acute and apparent. The introduction of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the drug supply is wreaking havoc in our cities and on our streets. Make no mistake: thousands are dying preventable deaths because the supply of street drugs is poisoned. And it’s not just heroin. Lethal amounts of fentanyl have been detected across the full range of “street drugs,” from bootleg Adderall, Ritalin and ecstasy that so many of our teens can readily buy on the street, to meth, cocaine and yes, heroin. This is an ominous and horrifying trend.
To bring the overdose death into graphic perspective: In 2023 over 150 people will die every day from overdoses in the United States — the equivalent of a fully-loaded Boeing 737 crashing every single day.
Thankfully, law enforcement has become a strong and indispensable ally in recognizing addiction issues. In fact, most reported naloxone overdose reversals have been conducted by police, who are often first on the scene of a suspected overdose. Instead of simply jailing substance users for their offense, most law enforcement personnel, trained and equipped with naloxone to reverse suspected overdoses, now work to direct people to the resources that can help them long-term. This has proven to be incredibly successful in keeping people alive long enough to get into a treatment program.
But helpful as law enforcement can be, the overdose statistics are telling us it’s simply not enough to tame the raging overdose death epidemic. This is where the appointment of a statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator will help. For example, the person in this position can encourage naloxone training for teachers in all of our public middle and high schools, while providing naloxone in sufficient quantities to the schools, in addition to other groups, organizations and institutions.
Ramping up naloxone availability and training across multiple social institutions will help to save lives and slow the rate of overdose deaths that New Jersey has been experiencing – roughly 2,900 in 2022 alone, and sadly, just this month, topped 1,000 already this year. Clearly drug use and addiction is a public health crisis. Laws like this one, that regard drug addiction as the disease that it is, and not simply a criminal activity, are positive steps in the right direction, providing a lifeline that will keep people alive as we in the treatment community work to get them the long-term help that they need.
The war on drugs today is not the same as the war we were fighting years ago. Fentanyl accounts for most of the rapid increase in overdoses and deaths we are seeing today. Overdose and substance use is on a different playing field now and it is more dangerous than ever. Passing this law that will create the Statewide Opioid Antidote Coordinator will greatly expand this proven harm reduction strategy and prevent many overdose deaths.
The overwhelming bi-partisan support that this bill received in the Assembly Health Committee is encouraging. Gopal’s companion bill, S-2808, has yet to receive a hearing. I strongly urge the full Assembly and Senate to quickly pass this legislation and send it to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature. This law is a tremendous and welcome step forward to finally begin to build a coordinated, statewide interdepartmental response to the overdose crisis. It will make our state safer, and it will save lives.
Robert J. Budsock, MS, LCADC, is the President and CEO of Integrity House, one of the oldest and largest non-profit providers of substance use disorder treatment, mental health services, and recovery support in New Jersey. Integrity House has locations throughout the state, including in Toms River.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ statewide opioid antidote coordinator is a real need
