[Name redacted] of Denville, was charged by Wayne police with possession of heroin.(Photo: Courtesy of Wayne Police) [Name redacted], 26, of Denville was arrested and charged with possession of 39 bags of heroin, among other charges, on Jan. 4. According to police records, Officer Tomasz Cydzik observed a 2000 Honda Civic parked in the CVS parking lot on Hamburg Turnpike with her head down "as if unconscious" around 9:40 p.m. When the officer approached, [name redacted] opened her eyes and police observed an uncapped syringe inside the vehicle, according to police reports. After further investigation, five Suboxone under-the-tongue films, one Clonazepam pill, a sandwich-sized plastic bag containing suspected marijuana, two additional hypodermic needles, multiple open glassine bags of suspected heroin, 39 additional bags of heroin stamped "suicide squad" and one small zip lock bag containing suspected cocaine, police records show. [continues 59 words]
Anti-drug advocates hailed Gov. Chris Christie's pledge Tuesday to make New Jersey's addiction crisis a top job in the final year of his term in office, but there were worries about funding and follow through. Using soaring rhetoric, heartfelt personal stories of loss and unmistakable zeal, the governor used his State of the State address to outline a series of new initiatives to battle the opioid epidemic that has devastated New Jersey. Paul Ressler, who lost his son Corey to a heroin overdose and now runs an organization that informs the public about the use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, praised the goal of getting more teenagers into treatment. Christie promised to change state regulations that exclude 18 and 19 year olds from treatment facilities for children. [continues 1053 words]
[photo] Gov. Chris Christie led a roundtable discussion at Integrity House in Newark, following the signing of an executive order declaring opoid addiction a public health crisis. At right, Integrity House President Robert Budsock. At left is Vanessa, an Integrity House program graduate.(Photo: Dale Mincey / NorthJersey) NEWARK -- In front of a small group of recovering addicts, Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order on Tuesday declaring the opioid addiction problem in New Jersey a public health crisis. The event, which was held at Integrity House -- an substance abuse recovery home on South Street in Newark -- took place less than an hour after Lt. Gov. Kim Guagdano announced her candidacy to succeed him as governor. [continues 587 words]
[photo] Governor Christie's attorney asked for the dismissal of a probable cause finding on an official misconduct complaint over the George Washington Bridge lane closures.(Photo: Chris Pedota/NorthJersey) Chris Christie plunged himself into the center of a crisis on Tuesday. It's a place where he's comfortable and often compelling. It's also a place where he thrives. "Our friends are dying. Our neighbors are dying. Our co-workers are dying. Our children are dying. Every day. In numbers we can no longer ignore,'' Christie said in his seventh State of the State speech, which was part sermon, part call to arms for the Legislature to confront the state's drug addiction crisis that "is ripping the very fabric of this state." [continues 940 words]
[photo] Governor Chris Christie delivers his State of the State address on Tuesday.(Photo: Chris Pedota/NorthJersey) As he composed a lengthy State of the State speech dedicated to battling New Jersey's heroin and opiate crisis, Governor Christie said he was intent on including one component that will not only challenge lawmakers in Trenton, but drastically alter the health care industry around the state. He insisted on a new law mandating that no resident with health insurance could be denied coverage for the first six months of inpatient or outpatient treatment, an unprecedented length of time, experts say. He told his administration two months ago to figure out how such a major change could be done. [continues 869 words]
The opioid epidemic may have cost as many lives as have been recently lost in Syria. Yet understanding it is difficult. I saw an Associated Press article that showed that pharmaceutical companies are focusing on lobbying state legislatures. There is a strong relationship between Medicare prescriptions and state income. The poorer the state, the more opioid prescriptions, presumably showing that legislators are particularly vulnerable to Big Pharma if their constituents don't have much money. There is a correlation also with a state's Republican leadership suggesting that less regulation leads to more Medicare opioid prescriptions. [continues 88 words]
The program launched by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office provides rehabilitation to those without insurance. Heroin and fentanyl deaths are rising in Ocean County.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Anyone suffering from addiction can now drop into two police departments in Ocean County and get treatment, whether they have insurance or not, officials announced Monday morning. The program also allows addicts to turn in their drugs without fear of being prosecuted, Al Della Fave, the spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said. The office is spearheading the program known as the Heroin Addiction Response Program. [continues 542 words]
[photo] A medical marijuana dispensary is proposed for 1154 N. Main St. in Algonquin. Algonquin officials are considering a medical marijuana company's proposal to open a dispensary in a medical office complex. ILDISP III LLC, represented by Ross Morreale, is seeking a special-use permit for a free-standing building at 1154 N. Main St., out of which the company would sell marijuana to patients with a prescription. An attached garage would also be added onto the building, which formerly housed an MRI center, as a secure area for deliveries and waste removal, according to the proposal. [continues 234 words]
Six months ago, AJ Solomon visited Gov. Chris Christie at the State House to apologize for using heroin while a member of the governor's advance team. [photo] Governor Chris Christie told the story of AJ Solomon, a recovering heroin addict, to illustrate his focus on combating drug addiction in New Jersey. Here, the Governor hugs Solomon as he exits after the address.(Photo: Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com) Six months ago, AJ Solomon visited Gov. Chris Christie at the State House to apologize for what he felt was the ultimate betrayal -- using heroin while a member of the governor's advance team in 2012 and 2013. [continues 629 words]
Christie this week reaffirmed his public commitment to making N.J. a national leader in fighting drug addiction. [photo] Governor Christie speaks about drug addiction at a Walgreens in East Brunswick on Dec. 22, 2016.(Photo: Nicholas Pugliese/STATE HOUSE BUREAU) Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday visited a Walgreens in East Brunswick to highlight initiatives the company is undertaking to promote the safe disposal of unused prescriptions drugs and expand access to a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose. His final public appearance before Christmas came on the heels of a related event Wednesday evening where Christie and former Gov. Jim McGreevey led a candlelight vigil on the State House steps in memory of people who have died from or are struggling with addiction. [continues 642 words]
New Jersey will receive a $1.3 million grant to target the heroin trade and illegal prescription drug activity as law enforcement and legislators team up to lower rates of addiction and overdoses, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. announced Thursday. [photo] A grant from the U.S. Justice Department would target the heroin trade and misuse of prescription drugs.(Photo: RECORD FILE PHOTO) New Jersey will receive a $1.3 million grant to target the heroin trade and illegal prescription drug activity as law enforcement and legislators team up to lower rates of addiction and overdoses, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. announced Thursday. [continues 248 words]
[photo] Governor Chris Christie holds a baby boy facing perinatal addiction while the boy's grandmother looks on while he was touring the Jersey Shore Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Neptune, N.J. on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. The baby boy is 49 days old and suffers from withdrawal symptoms transferred from his mother who had addiction issues. (Photo: Tim Larsen/Governor's office) With changes to health care among the top priorities for President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office next month, New Jersey is likely to gain greater flexibility in Medicaid and possibly help drug users get access to treatment, Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday. [continues 421 words]
One is a former nurse. Another used to be in law enforcement. There were a recruiter and a graphic designer. Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal and Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino at the press conference on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016. They were among 40 people arrested this week in an investigation led by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to combat the area's "staggering" heroin epidemic. This time, after arresting the alleged users for drug possession, detectives offered them help -- the chance to enter a five-day detox program run by Bergen County Regional Medical Center. Twelve people accepted. [continues 1881 words]
Sitting in a jail cell and preparing to spend as many as five years in state prison for two heroin possession charges, Matt Lopreiato found himself at a grim crossroads. "I destroyed my family inside and out. I felt like my life was over. No family, no friends," the 27-year-old Toms River man said. "I felt like I was alone and would be better off dead to be completely honest with you." The heroin addict went cold turkey and spent 43 days in Ocean County Jail. Then an offer arrived: go through addiction treatment, succeed and go free. [continues 899 words]
Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale confirmed Saturday afternoon that city police are investigating a report that a 3-year-old tested positive for marijuana early Saturday morning. Speziale said that at 3 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31, police were met by child protective services at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center because "a 3-year-old had tested positive for marijuana." "It is an unfortunate situation," Speziale said. "We don't if it is because of contact or ingestion. We take these situations as serious." [continues 91 words]
Lacey Township Middle School is one of the first in the region to drug test middle school students. Here's why. LACEY -- Middle schoolers here are among the first in the region to take part in a random drug testing program that could shape the battle against drug abuse. Superintendent Craig Wigley said the program is ready to launch after New Year's, and he expects about 100 of the middle school's roughly 700 students to participate. Parents must enroll their seventh- and eighth-graders in order to take part in the voluntary program, under which students who fail a random drug test would be removed from sports and extracurricular activities for 10 days after the first offense, 45 days after the second offense, and longer for a third offense. [continues 451 words]
Heroin's deadly cousin, the synthetic opioid fentanyl, figured in 417 fatal drug overdoses in New Jersey in 2015, nearly three times the number of fentanyl-related deaths in the year before, according to new state figures. The findings from the Office of the State Medical Examiner confirm the fears of law enforcement and public health officials, who have been forecasting an ever-rising body count from opioid addiction. In 2014, the number of fentanyl-related deaths in New Jersey stood at 142. [continues 465 words]
TRENTON - Ed Forchion wants to film a reality show chronicling the impact of the country's so-called War on Drugs on his life. He has a couple titles in mind: "The War on NJ Weedman." Or perhaps even better, "Marijuana Martyr." Forchion pointed to prosecutors' desire in a drug case in Trenton that could land him in prison for years to protect the identity of a confidential informant who allegedly purchased weed from him several times at his downtown city business. [continues 814 words]
TRENTON - Wearing a tailored gray pinstripe suit and a ganja chain dangling from his neck, Trenton's well-known marijuana activist showed up more than 15 minutes late to court Tuesday for his arraignment where prosecutors formally extended a plea offer that could send him to prison for years. Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion pleaded not guilty to 11 drug-related charges and was offered a 7-year plea to admit guilt to distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of the Daylight/Twilight School in Trenton. Forchion would have to spend three and a half years in prison, prosecutors said, because his past drug convictions make him an "extended-term" offender. [continues 777 words]
Federal officials remain in a haze when it comes to articulating a comprehensible policy on marijuana. Perhaps last week's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals curtailing the feds from prosecuting legitimate growers and distributors will help clear the air. Half the nation's states, led by California, permit medicinal applications. Four states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. In November, California could become the fifth. Yet the federal government still sees marijuana as a dangerous drug and dispensary operators as prosecution targets. [continues 359 words]