Jenna Mellor, executive director of the N.J. Harm Reduction Coalition, said the problem is getting worse and not better.<\/p>\n
We are using Band-Aids for a huge wound in our drug policy, she said.<\/p>\n
The increase in deaths is modest when compared to other states, according to Angelo Valente, executive director of Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey. He added while the numbers have shown some stabilization, his organization is not satisfied with it.<\/p>\n
We need to be able to make every effort to bring those numbers down and hopefully to eliminate the problem completely, he said. <\/p>\n
The U.S. surpassed a grim milestone in the first year of the pandemic; more than 100,000 overdose deaths were recorded. That represents a 28.5% increase over the previous period. The biggest increases were seen in Vermont, West Virginia and Kentucky.<\/p>\n
Mellor adds that New Jersey has historically doubled down on the war on drugs. According to a report she authored for New Jersey Policy Perspective, the state spent $11.6 billion to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate people for drug crimes between 2010 and 2019.<\/p>\n
As long as we take a drug war approach, we are not going to see the reduction in overdose deaths that we so desire, she said. <\/p>\n
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See the rest here:<\/p>\n
Increase in N.J. drug overdose numbers suggests more needs to be done - WHYY<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jenna Mellor, executive director of the N.J. Harm Reduction Coalition, said the problem is getting worse and not better. Continue reading