A Flourish data visualisation

At least 3,163 people died of drug overdoses in New Jersey in 2018.

That’s more than the population of Saddle River. It’s more than the student body at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City. It’s more than the number of people killed by the flu, homicides, car accidents and suicides in 2016, combined.

The astronomical figures are largely result of the state and national opioid crisis, which is blamed for more than 40,000 deaths nationwide in 2017. Its impacts have been discussed now for years. New Jersey has pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to stem the tide. Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote, likely saved more than 15,000 lives last year.

And yet, the toll still rises. In 2018, New Jersey’s drug death toll set a record for the fourth state year, and now stands nearly four times what it was a decade ago, according to preliminary data collected by the state Attorney General’s Office.

“I think we have to acknowledge that, unfortunately, all of our efforts aren’t having the impact we want to see yet,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. “That doesn’t mean we stop. I’m optimistic that we’re moving in the right direction. I have to be.”

Since taking office, Grewal has made the opioid crisis a priority, as Gov. Chris Christie did in years prior. He is working to vastly expand data kept on the opioid crisis, and has already moved to strengthen rules governing prescribing.

But it’s difficult for Grewal to control what’s propelling the crisis' recent deadly turn: Fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be upwards of 25 times more powerful than heroin. It’s not difficult to make and has been relatively easy to purchase internationally in recent years. And, since 2014, it has become ubiquitous in New Jersey’s illegal drug market, often without user’s knowledge.

A Flourish data visualisation

In 2013, fentanyl and other synthetic analogues of it were involved in just 3.5% of New Jersey drug deaths. In 2017, it played a role in the death of nearly 1,400 people, or about 50% of the state’s death toll. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials interviewed by NJ Advance Media say in 2018, it was markedly higher.

“Gov. (Phil) Murphy continues to be deeply troubled by the alarming number of families tragically affected by opioid related deaths and recognizes that this epidemic continues to impact individuals struggling with addiction across New Jersey,” said Alexandra Altman, a spokesman for the governor, in a statement. “The administration is actively working to combat each facet of this complex crisis by pursuing collaborative and data driven public health and criminal justice strategies.”

The spike in deaths has made the prevalence of the opioid crisis more complete, data shows. While at the beginning of the decade high death rates were confined to specific counties, like Ocean, Atlantic or Camden, 19 of 21 counties have seen their drug overdose death rate at least double since 2012.

In 2015, NJ Advance Media published Herointown, an investigative project that estimated at least 128,000 people in New Jersey were addicted to heroin. The project noted that in the decade leading up to the project’s publication, at least 10,100 people died of drug overdoses in New Jersey.