FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 24, 2025
Contacts: Lisa Batitto, news@drugfreenj.org

New Jersey’s Path Forward Starts With Prevention

By Elaine Pozycki
Chair, Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey

New Jersey has experienced a hopeful shift in addressing the opioid crisis. NJ CARES, which provides data and information on the opioid crisis in the state, is reporting a steady decline in overdose deaths from previous years. The strategies New Jersey has invested in - prevention and treatment access - is making a difference.

But this doesn’t mean the crisis is over. The drug supply remains unpredictable and increasingly dangerous, driven by fentanyl and other synthetic substances that elevate the risk for people of every age and background. This is not the time to look away or slow down. It is time to strengthen the strategies we know can save lives. Prevention must be at the forefront of New Jersey’s response.

That means real, consistent, age-appropriate education, from schools to senior centers, from youth programs to workplace trainings. Prevention is not a single conversation. It’s a long-term investment that equips people with facts, tools, and support before they’re in crisis.

We also need the ongoing availability of Narcan so people can survive a potential overdose and then receive the treatment they need. Reducing stigma is equally essential. People are far more likely to seek help when they feel supported, not judged.

More than 800 families in New Jersey have already suffered devastating loss this year. The message is clear: the opioid crisis remains an urgent threat, and the only responsible path forward is one grounded in prevention, compassion, and action.

###

Best known for its statewide substance use prevention advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication.  To date, more than $200 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception, the Partnership has garnered 232 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.