
DEA seized enough fentanyl in 2024 to kill every American
For the first time in nearly a decade, New Jersey in 2024 recorded fewer than 2,000 drug overdose deaths for the year.
According to preliminary figures from the Attorney General's Office, New Jersey was home to 1,766 suspected drug deaths in 2024 — much less than the 1,956 deaths officials had predicted in the fall.
But officials aren't celebrating the fact that still four to five people lose their lives to drugs — mainly opioids — on a daily basis in the Garden State.
While much of the progress can be attributed to treatment and prevention efforts by those who care, the declining numbers are also a product of more careful tactics being rolled out by the criminals producing illegal drugs.
"The dosages are becoming less fatal ... and that is intentional, because of the increased law enforcement presence and the priority on going after the drug cartels and going after the mills," said Jennifer Austin, with the New Jersey division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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Today, the synthetic opioid fentanyl is found in essentially every illegal drug that's tested in labs. But, Austin said, officials have noticed a "lower amount of fentanyl" in each dosage.
Drug network leaders believe there will be less pressure on their operations if they're not killing so many customers, she said.
According to Austin, the DEA in 2024 seized enough fentanyl to kill every American.
"That is a scary number because we are not seizing even half of what is coming into the country."
Throughout 2024, the opioid antidote naloxone was administered nearly 11,300 times by law enforcement and other first responders in the Garden State, according to New Jersey officials.
"New Jersey is doing very well," Austin said. "We have about a 30% decline in drug overdose deaths over last year, which is amazing."
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 recorded fewer opioid deaths in 2024 than in 2023.
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