A new way to see the destruction caused by opioids in your NJ county

Don't believe the drug crisis is hitting too close to home?

An interactive tool from the New Jersey Department of Health will probably change your mind.

The "Overdose Mortality Data Explorer" allows you to follow fatal overdose trends in your own county.

The tool is funded as part of a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of now, it includes all "unintentional" drug overdose deaths from 2012 through 2022.

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"To effectively combat this crisis, we must be informed about the devastating impacts of overdose-related harms across the state," Gov. Phil Murphy said when the tool was first introduced. "This resource will better help us determine how to target critical support through prevention, treatment, and recovery services and programs."

Follow this link to access the overdose mortality dashboard. You can search by county, by demographics, and by types of drugs involved.

As of Monday, New Jersey officials were aware of 929 suspected drug deaths so far in 2024.

The total fatal overdose count dropped by a couple hundred between 2022 and 2023. Officials say New Jersey is starting to see a flattening of the curve, despite challenges presented by the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

This site offers weekly overdose updates from the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner.

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