Bergen Law Enforcement Officials Gaining Momentum Against Heroin, Opioids

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — Momentum is being made in the battle against the opioid and heroin epidemic. But the epidemic's roots go back decades and it is one that might take decades to solve.

Attorney General Christopher Porrino, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal and Patty Trava, a local leader in the battle against the epidemic spoke at a special discussion at Ramapo High School Wednesday night.

"Years ago, opioid painkillers were not on the street," Porrino said. "If you wanted morphine, you went to a hospital. People became less tolerant of people having to feel pain. Doctors got comfortable with helping people to reduce pain and there is no better substance on the planet to do that than opioids."

Also See: Why Are Opioids So Addictive?

Porrino said that 80 percent of heroin addicts have become addicted through the use of prescription pills.

Porrino gave the scenario of kids or young adults at a party as a way where kids can be introduced to painkillers.

"Not too many people are to say that cooking heroin is a great idea, but if someone walks up to you at a party and says, 'you gotta try this,' and it's in a prescription bottle you're thinking, 'it's not going to kill me.'"

In addressing the need to take more painkillers off the street, Porrino referenced a new state law that reduces the initial number of days worth of painkillers prescribe to patients from 3o to five.

Fentanyl's Growing Use

Enough fentanyl to kill 18 million people was discovered last month in what authorities called a "record-setting" drug bust in New Jersey.

Fentanyl is a powerful painkiller in the opiate family that is used in hospitals and given intravenously. It is believed to be as much as 50 times more potent than heroin.

Porrino said a lab technician overdosed on it after getting some of it on her hand. A drug-sniffing dog also overdosed on it.

Dealers and heroin makers only need to put a tiny amount of Fentanyl into some heroin to increase it potency and make it more addictive for users. A dose as small as 2 or 3 milligrams can be fatal, according to information from the Attorney General's Office.

"It makes the heroin they are selling much more marketable," Porrino said.

Fentanyl has been found in half of the 375 reported overdoses in Bergen County so far this year. That number is already more than 50 overdoses more than the 320 last year.

So far this year, 73 overdose victims have died this year; 98 died all of last year.

Getting People Help

Fifteen people who were arrested during Operation Helping Hand earlier this year have gotten help for their addiction. The program partners a user with a recovery specialist, a former addict, who helps put that person on the path to recovery.

The prosecutor's office has a Heroin Addiction Recovery Team of people from the Mahwah, Lyndhurst and Paramus Police departments. Users can go to those police stations and turn in substances without fear of being prosecuted and get the help they need through addiction recovery. So far 50 people have taken advantage of the program.

Franklin Lakes Police will also offer amnesty to opioid addicts who go to police seeking help.

Police departments and municipal offices throughout the county have installed medicine drop boxes where people can dispose of their unwanted or expired prescription pills, often 24 hours a day.

Patty Trava is the community liaison to the Franklin Lakes Municipal Alliance. Her daughter Kate overdosed on heroin in February 2014.

"I don't think I understood the magnitude of this problem until she was addicted," Trava said. "It was a rude awakening to me about what can happen."

Trava said her daughter went through a four- to five-year cycle of being arrested and going into rehabilitation and detoxification.

"I remember warning her: 'If you don't get help, you're going to die' and she said, 'no, I can handle this.' It is a problem you cannot solve by yourself," Trava said.

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.

Image via Shutterstock