By CHRISTOPHER BARILLA
FREEHOLD- Both Monmouth and Ocean counties are chock full of rich historical landmarks, beautiful foliage, and a world-renowned shore area. However, these storied counties harbor a dark and deeply complex issue that has seemingly spurred an epidemic over the last few years, heroin.
Despite being a middle to an upper-middle-class area, Monmouth County averaging roughly a $90,000 a year median income, and Ocean County averaging roughly a $56,000 a year median income, both locales have been affected severely by the opioid, specifically heroin, epidemic in recent years. Since 2012, over five hundred Monmouth County residents have lost their lives to heroin usage.
Michael Coppa, 23, a long-term Freehold resident, calls the issue at hand, “horrible.”
“The fact that these dealers know what they are doing to people just to make a few bucks. It’s sickening to think about especially when I’ve lost such close friends of mine to addiction.” Coppa added.
The Facts
According to Monmouth County Prosecutors Office data, the yearly breakdown for heroin-caused deaths is as follows.
- 2012: 88 deaths
- 2014:104 deaths
- 2015: 122 deaths
- 2016: 164 deaths
- 2018: 151 deaths
Although Monmouth County would not be the typical place an individual would expect a hard drug epidemic to emerge, the facts may prove it to be more susceptible to drug abuse than previously believed.
Some of these contributing factors include:
- Proximity to Camden, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey, which are two top drug, crime, and poverty cities in the country.
- A higher income level makes it easier for residents to substantiate a drug habit.
- Proximity to major waterways and the Atlantic Ocean, allowing drugs to be smuggled in through ports.
According to the Asbury Park Press, Ocean County hasn’t fared well either, with the metric provided that, “One person died of a suspected drug overdose for every 2,344 residents in Ocean County in 2016.”
With a population of only 592,944 in 2016, that means around one in every 250 residents died directly from an overdose.
Local Reaction and Calls to Action
Monmouth County resident Lucille Barilla, 51, was “shocked” to hear of the actual figures of drug-related deaths in her local area,
“I truly hope that the state government focuses more initiatives towards getting in the streets and getting people off of these terrible substances before they destroy more families,” she said.
To attempt to combat the issue, in 2018 Governor Phil Murphy announced a $100 million “strategic, coordinated multi-agency effort” to deal with the opioid crisis. At around the same time, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams also issued his own advisory pleading that more Americans begin to carry naloxone, a drug that when administered can reverse opioid overdoses, which, according to his figures, kill a person every 12½ minutes in this country.
This announcement was the first advisory made by the Surgeon General since 2005, which was at the time made in regards to alcohol use during pregnancy.
A very chilling report about the rise in opioid deaths in America and just how common opiod deaths have become. This is a report that everyone should be aware of. #mcponj https://t.co/bATkOo5A4A
— Monmouth Prosecutor (@MonCoProsecutor) January 15, 2019
The Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.) has also responded to the epidemic in Monmouth and Ocean counties by establishing a dedicated task force for the area that aims to further bolster law enforcement, community outreach, prevention, and public health initiatives.
“The creation of this new office means the permanent assignment of DEA special agents and task force officers. The office will aim to disrupt the trafficking of narcotics throughout Monmouth and Ocean County,” DEA New Jersey Division Special Agent in Charge Valerie A. Nickerson wrote in a statement upon the announcement of the new task force.
“It will also allow for the increased use of federal resources to combat the current heroin, fentanyl and prescription painkiller epidemic that has taken a toll on the area resulting in an unprecedented number of drug overdose fatalities,” Nickerson added.
The maps and graphics that you included really accentuate the local angle, showing readers exactly what counties are affected most by the heroin epidemic. I also wasn’t aware of the efforts made by the DFA to foster community outreach. Overall, the story was easy to read and very informative for people who may not be familiar with the epidemic in Monmouth and Ocean County.