MONMOUTH COUNTY – There is some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the opioid crisis in Monmouth County, according to recent data from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
As we finish out the first six months of 2017, the county is currently at 55 opioid overdose-related deaths, compared to 73 in the first six months of 2016. That’s a 25 percent decrease compared to last year.
As opioid overdose-related deaths are falling, Narcan deployments are on the rise, by about 18 percent. So far the overdose reversal spray has been used 236 times, compared to 199 times over the same time period in 2016. More people are also being saved from an overdose after being sprayed with Narcan than they were last year as well.
Opioid overdose-related deaths in Monmouth County have had the following progression:
2012: 68
2013: 77
2014: 100
2015: 107
2016: 148
By way of comparison, Ocean County saw its opioid overdose-related deaths remain roughly the same halfway through the year compared to the same timeframe last year – at about 74 – pending a few toxicology reports. So far, law enforcement in that county has sprayed Narcan 164 times to revive someone from an overdose.
