Newsroom
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nj.com - Gov. McGreevey: 3 things N.J. can do to turn the tide on opioid crisis
Posted 10/12/2018
The opioid crisis has become the defining public health challenge of our time. Overdose deaths are tearing apart communities at a rate faster than the AIDS epidemic at its peak and now claim more American lives each year -- over 72,000 in 2017 according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) -- than the Vietnam War in its entirety. New Jersey has been particularly hard hit by the crisis with its rate of annual overdose deaths spiking almost 30 percent in the past year (one of the highest in the nation) and over 3,000 overdose deaths anticipated this year.
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njbmagazine.com: Combatting the Opioid Crisis
Posted 10/10/2018
While the number of opioid prescriptions is down, the number of deaths continues to rise.
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pressofatlanticcity: NJ leaders take action in Washington on opioid epidemic
Posted 10/9/2018
Legislators in Congress may not agree on many things these days, but efforts to address the nationwide opioid epidemic are among the few things that achieve bipartisan collaboration.
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insidernj.com: Bipartisan Heroin and Opioids Task Force Co-Chairs Applaud Senate Passage of Comprehensive Opioid Bill
Posted 10/5/2018
Toms River, New Jersey—Co-Chairs of the Bipartisan Heroin and Opioids Task Force, Congressman Tom MacArthur (R-NJ-03) and Congresswoman Annie Kuster (D-NH-02), released a statement following the final passage of bipartisan, bicameral, and comprehensive opioid legislation. The bill now heads to the president’s desk for signature into law. The Bipartisan Heroin and Opioids Task Force has been instrumental in crafting this legislation and has led many initiatives in Congress to better assist communities in fighting the opioid epidemic.
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washingtonpost.com: We must treat mental and bodily health the same. It’s a matter of human rights.
Posted 10/1/2018
Almost 10 years have passed since Congress required that insurers offering mental-health services for illnesses of the brain, such as depression or addiction, do so no more restrictively than illnesses of the body, such as diabetes or cancer. And yet most insurers today still do not comply with the law.
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usatoday.com: Trump implores world leaders at United Nations to confront 'scourge' of drug addiction
Posted 9/25/2018
NEW YORK – President Donald Trump called on world leaders Monday to deal with "the scourge of drug addiction" in his first address to this week's meeting of the United Nations.
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usatoday.com: I lost a sister and a brother to opioid addiction. I nearly lost my own life, too.
Posted 9/21/2018
We started using heroin because it was easy to get, but overcoming addiction was the hardest thing I've ever done. Community made it possible.
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whitehouse.gov: Trump Administration Makes “Crisis Next Door” a Top Priority
Posted 9/21/2018
The latest estimates show that in 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, most involving opioids like prescription pain medications, heroin and illicitly made fentanyl. These deaths outnumbered deaths caused by motor-vehicle crashes and they outnumbered deaths caused by suicide.
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washingtonpost.com: Senate passes sweeping opioids package
Posted 9/18/2018
The set of 70 bills is one of the only bipartisan pieces of legislation to be approved this year.
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njherald.com: New US survey shows some progress against opioid crisis
Posted 9/17/2018
Figures from a U.S. government survey released Friday show some progress in the fight against the ongoing opioid addiction crisis with fewer people in 2017 using heroin for the first time compared to the previous year.