16 Of 21 Union County Towns Report Drug Overdoses This Year

UNION COUNTY, NJ — In less than three months since 2019 began, there have already been 11 overdose deaths reported in Union County. Additionally, Union County police have used the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug, naloxone or commonly referred to as Narcan, 67 times this year.

"Officers in 16 of 21 municipalities in Union County have responded to a report of a drug overdose in this fashion so far this year alone," Union County Prosecutor's Office tweeted.

Linden reported the most naloxone usage with 16 while the five towns that have not reported any naloxone usage were: Berkeley Heights, Winfield, Mountainside, New Providence, and Fanwood.

The UCPO releases the numbers periodically in an effort to "#confrontingacrisis."

In 2018, Union County officers reported using naloxone 307 times compared to 180 times in 2017 and 161 times in 2016, according to the Union County Prosecutor's Office Spokesman Mark Spivey.

There were also 116 overdose deaths reported in 2018 compared to 126 in 2017, and 89 in 2016, Spivey said.

Here is a breakdown of the police-administered naloxone in Union County for 2019 as of March 15 (from highest to lowest):

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.