Fentanyl taking over: Overdose deaths by county in NJ

⚫ NJ expects to record about 1,950 overdose deaths for 2024

⚫ Fentanyl and its analogs are a primary driver of the drug crisis

⚫ Most counties have seen a decline in overdose deaths

For the first time in nearly a decade, New Jersey in 2024 may record fewer than 2,000 drug overdose deaths for the year.

Based on preliminary figures through Sept. 30, officials in the Garden State are projecting a final drug death tally of 1,956 for 2024. The number of suspected deaths was at 1,466 as of the end of September.

"That still equates to more than five people every day in New Jersey, and we need to keep up all our efforts to continue to push this number down," said Capt. Jason Piotrowski, of the New Jersey State Police.

The last time New Jersey recorded a yearly death count under 2,000 was in 2015, when 1,587 deaths were tallied.

Most counties in the state have recorded fewer opioid deaths in 2024 than in 2023. The county-by-county rundown is below.

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Experts presented their findings during a webinar hosted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.

Numbers show that fentanyl is the primary driver of the opioid crisis in New Jersey right now. Prescription opioid deaths still regularly occur, but at a fraction of the pace of deaths caused by synthetics.

Dr. Lewis Nelson, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, noted that 15% of overdose patients who are treated with naloxone — an opioid antidote — end up dying within a year of being saved, mainly because they can't kick their drug habit.

"We can't just give people naloxone and say we're done," Nelson said. "These people need to get into treatment."

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