Drug Deaths Rising Among Black, Hispanic, Older NJ Residents

NEW JERSEY — Fatal drug overdoses are rising among people over 55 and among Black and Hispanic New Jersey residents, state data shows. Despite New Jersey's overall decline in drug deaths, first responders are also administering naloxone to the aforementioned populations at a rising rate, data shows.

State Police shared drug data during a Dec. 8 webinar hosted by the Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey. You can view the presentation here.

Drug deaths in New Jersey are projected to be 7 percent below the numbers reached in 2020 and 2021, preliminary data from the state medical examiner shows. On average, 242 people in the state have died every month this year from overdoses, according to the data. New Jersey hasn't seen a year-over-year decline in drug deaths since 2019 — and before that, not since 2014.

In 2020, the state had 3,050 drug overdose deaths, and that number climbed to 3,124 in 2021. This year, projections indicate 2,904 people will die in New Jersey from drug-related overdose deaths. First responders are also projected to administer more life-saving naloxone this year than in the two previous years. NJ has not had under 3,000 overdose deaths in a calendar year since 2017, data shows.

Fentanyl use has risen exponentially since the state began tracking it in 2015, when 7 percent of suspected heroin contained fentanyl. In the third quarter of 2022, 98 percent of suspected heroin submissions contained fentanyl, state agencies said, and 63 percent of suspected heroin submitted to state forensic labs during the quarter, in fact, did not contain any heroin. There has also been a "significant increase" in the presence of xylazine, also called "tranq."

Methamphetamine and cocaine seizures increased in 2021, while reports of overdoses from crack, cocaine and meth rose above heroin overdose reports in the second quarter of both 2021 and 2022.

Since 2019, the DEA New Jersey has seized approximately 487 kilograms of fentanyl, 490 kilograms of heroin, 8,620 kilograms of cocaine, 456 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1,124 kilograms of pharmaceutical medications, and 23,764 kilograms of marijuana according to the presentation.

Disparities In Treatment

New Jersey's rate of overdose deaths among white people declined from 76 percent of the state's drug deaths in 2015 to 52 percent this year. Meanwhile, the portion of fatal doses increased among Black people (13 percent in 2015 to 28 percent this year) and Hispanic residents (9 percent to 15 percent in that span).

The CDC noted similar nationwide trends of growing racial disparities. The rate of overdose deaths — deaths per 100,000 people — increased 44 percent among Black from 2019 to 2020. A lower portion of people in racial and ethnic minority groups received prior substance-use treatment before their deaths, compared to white people, according to the agency.

"Income inequalities, often negatively impacting people from racial and ethnic minority groups at a greater level, can lead to lack of stable housing, reliable transportation, and health insurance," the CDC says. "This makes it even more difficult for people to access treatment and other support services."

Overdose deaths among people 65 and older have also increased around the nation, according to the federal health agency. The national rate of overdose deaths in seniors nearly quadrupled from 2000 to 2020, jumping from 2.4 to 8.8 deaths per 100,000 people in that time.

In New Jersey, overdose deaths have increased the most in the past decade in Essex County (nine per month in 2012, 38 per month this year) and Camden County (12 per month in 2012 to 31 per month this year).

But drug deaths increased in five counties from January through October of last year to the same span this year: Atlantic County (+21 percent), Warren County (+13 percent), Essex County (+11 percent), Camden County (+8 percent) and Cumberland County (+3 percent).

View the full presentation here.