In the News

  • nj1015: Heroin use continues to rise in NJ

    Posted 2/9/2015

    In part one of a five-part series on new Jersey’s heroin epidemic, we examine the growing problem of drug use in the Garden State and what is being done to combat the situation.

  • Cannabis Use is Quantitatively Associated with Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala Abnormalities in Young Adult Recreational Users

    Posted 2/6/2015

    A new study from medical researchers at Harvard and Northwestern shows that 18- to 25-year-olds who smoke marijuana—even just recreationally!—had marked abnormalities in areas of their brains that regulate emotion and motivation

  • PDFNJ Ex. Dir. Angelo M. Valente appears on NJ Legislative Black Caucus: From Trenton to You

    Posted 2/1/2015

    Angelo M. Valente recently appeared with Senator Rice on NJ Legislative Black Caucus: From Trenton to you to discuss ways to address the problems of substance abuse in New Jersey. Show times and channels are after the jump.

  • cnn.com: Heroin deaths up for 3rd year in a row

    Posted 1/15/2015

    (CNN)Many more people are dying from heroin overdoses than in previous years, according to the latest available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An analysis of those numbers and what might be responsible for the uptick in heroin deaths appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

  • njspotlight.com: OP-ED: PREVENT OPIATE ADDICTION AT THE SOURCE THROUGH EDUCATING PATIENTS

    Posted 1/9/2015

    Over the past two decades, the number of prescriptions for opiate-based painkillers has tripled, while dosages have grown stronger. The prime source for the national explosion of opiate addiction -- whether in the form of painkillers such as OxyContin or in the form of illegal street drugs such as heroin -- is the dramatic increase in the use of opiate-based prescription drugs.

  • NJ.com: Tainted heroin kills 6, N.J. issues warning about 3 deadly brands

    Posted 1/8/2015

    State officials from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York have identified three highly lethal brands of drugs that have been responsible for at least six overdose deaths recently, the latest twist in the state's ongoing battle with heroin and opioid abuse.

  • myfoxny.com: Kratom: potentially dangerous but legal herb

    Posted 1/5/2015

    You may not know what kratom is but chances are your kids do or will soon. Kratom comes from a plant native to Thailand, Malaysia, and elsewhere. It can mimic the effects of heroin. It is not new; people have used it since the 1900s. But the herb's popularity is growing rapidly on the Internet.

  • Eurekalert.org: Skipping college makes young people more likely to abuse pain pills

    Posted 12/31/2014

    A study just released by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health compared the use of prescription opioids and stimulants among high school graduates, non-graduates, and their college-attending peers, and found that young adults who do not attend college are at particularly high risk for nonmedical prescription opioid use and disorder.

  • UPDATE: NJ Parents Concerned About Rx Drugs Their Child is Prescribed, Bill Aims to Supply Information and Alternatives

    Posted 12/19/2014

    TRENTON -- Senate Bill S2366 passed the New Jersey Senate by a vote of 36-1 and will be decided on by the New Jersey State Assembly. The bill will require practitioners to have a discussion about the highly addictive nature of opiate based prescriptions when prescribing for the first time and patients to formally acknowledge in writing that they are aware of the risks and were also offered reasonable alternatives. If S2366 passes the Assembly, it will move on to the Governor’s office to be signed into law.

  • Mothers from TalkNowNJ.com to appear on Caucus: NJ with Steve Adubato

    Posted 12/19/2014

    Meg Parisi, Abby Boxman, and Donna DeStefano, three mothers who were featured in a video on TalkNowNJ.com, along with PDFNJ Executive Director, Angelo M. Valente, appeared on Caucus: New Jersey with Steve Adubato. TalkNowNJ.com also contains resources for parents on the signs and symptoms of opiate and a quiz to test parents’ knowledge of prescription drug abuse.