More than 100 deployments of the overdose antidote naloxone have occurred in Monmouth County since the drug was first deployed eight months ago. While lives are being saved and families are being impacted in a positive way, the problem of heroin and opiate addiction persists as fatal outcomes nevertheless continue, said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
“When someone is in the midst of a potentially deadly overdose, seconds count. Having this antidote in the hands of police officers has proven be a life-saving tool. Oftentimes police officers are the first responders on the scene of an emergency call, and since the antidote was added to their arsenal of tools to aid the community those officers are bridging the gap between the time of a 911 emergency call and the arrival of medical assistance – saving lives,” Gramiccioni said.
Law enforcement agencies across Monmouth County were authorized and trained to use the heroin overdose antidote naloxone in April and May, 2014, and the drug was first deployed on June 5th saving the life of an Ocean Township man within hours of the official announcement. Since naloxone was authorized for law enforcement agencies across Monmouth County, the overdose antidote was deployed on 103 occasions. Naloxone was deployed 99 times in 2014, resulting in the reversal of 88 overdoses and 11 incidents ending with death. Since the New Year, there have been four deployments of the antidote – three occurring on Jan. 4.
“We are experiencing about a 10 percent overdose death rate when the antidote is deployed by local law enforcement officers. I wouldn’t want to speculate how high the number would be if this antidote was limited in its use,” Gramiccioni said. “Working with paramedics, EMTs and other medical professionals, we are not curing drug addiction, but we are providing a second chance for drug addicts to seek out the treatment and get the help they so desperately need.”
The first deployment of naloxone occurred in Ocean Township less than four hours after the deployment was announced on June 5, 2014. By mid-September the antidote had been deployed 50 times, and the 100th deployment successfully revived a 24-year-old Aberdeen man on New Year’s Day.
Since deploying the overdose antidote, naloxone has reversed the effects of heroin or opiate-related overdoses for people ranging in age from 15 to 68, saving the lives of 25 females and 78 males. Those who died, despite the efforts of first responders using naloxone, included 10 men and one woman. They range in age from 20-50 years old, and are from Aberdeen, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Howell, Keansburg, Oceanport, Middletown and Wall Township.
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You got a junkie shooting up smack. I think the junkie would take a 90% survival rate over nothing. Pretty good odds compared to before. Should we just give to the junkies with purchase of heroine, provide the dealers with it to hand out free with every purchase?
Spelling error in headline…
Just wondering, how many of those who survived weren’t really a heroin OD?
#1 Wanna bet somewhere amongst your friends and family lurks alcoholics, prescription drug abusers and addicts of all manner.
The statistics bear this out. You’re just ignorant of the who of it.
Or perhaps you do know, about your child, mother, next door neighbor, niece or nephew. And this is your way of hiding the pain from the world.
Baruch H’ashem
AntIdOte!
Hey Zev,
I’m familiar with many figures, and very well educated. I’ve seen adicts of all types from all walks of life. Your Cub Scout psychology is off target and elementary.
It’s called a satirical look.
Zev don’t assume you know someone family or circle of friends. You don’t even know who number 1 is for goodness sake!
Legalize all drugs, including heroin. Tax and regulate them (as a gradualist measure). As with ending the alcohol prohibition in the 1930s, there’ll be a huge drop in violent crime and poisoning / overdose cases. Other taxes will drop considerably.
Most OD’s happen because of lack of quality control and irregularities in supply, so users don’t know how much they can tolerate. If recreational drugs were treated like legal pharmaceuticals, there would be many brands competing on the basis of quality and safety. Technological innovations like medical censor implants would also help make overdoses a thing of the past.
I don’t advocate drug use, but the price of freedom is having to tolerate the freedom of others…
#6. “adicts” ? So much for education ! Your syntax and sentence structure has your GED on full display !
Baruch H’ashem