Residents, law enforcement personnel and government officials in New Jersey are continuing to battle an opioid epidemic that has touched people of all ages, religions and social classes.
Monmouth and Ocean counties have not been immune to the scourge of drugs.
On March 3, Toms River native and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will compete for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 222, but before he tries to knock out Max Holloway and win the belt, Edgar wants to knock out substance abuse.
Edgar took time out from training to stage a wrestling/mixed martial arts (MMA) exhibition at Brick Township High School on Jan. 11. The event was called “Knock Out Substance Abuse” and brought an audience of all ages to the high school.
The featured attraction had Edgar and Brick Township High School Assistant Principal Dan O’Cone on stage displaying some of the moves that have made them outstanding athletes.
O’Cone was not just any exhibition opponent. He has a black belt in Kodokan Judo, was a three-time Division III All-America wrestler at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey). Twice O’Cone advanced to the NCAA Division III national title bout in his weight class.
During his scholastic career, O’Cone became the first region tournament champion in the history of Point Pleasant Beach High School when he won a title at Region 6 in 1992. He was also a two-time District 23 champion. O’Cone previously served as the head wrestling coach at Brick Memorial High School in Brick Township.
Speaking about his commitment to become involved in the battle against opioid abuse, Edgar said, “I have had a lot of friends who struggled with addiction. I have lost some friends through addiction and I have kids in this community, so I want to try and help out and change the atmosphere here a little bit and at least bring awareness to these kids and tell them some positive things.”
In addition to hearing from Edgar, attendees listened to remarks from Brick Township Acting Superintendent of Schools Dennis Fillippone, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato and a high school senior who shared his heartbreaking story of what it is like growing up in a house with substance abuse and losing his brother to heroin.
The keynote speaker was Trish Horner, a Tuckerton mother who shared the story of her son, Christopher, in a presentation titled “Christopher’s Journal: A Mother’s Love.” Christopher died at the age of 18 after he became addicted to OxyContin (an opioid pain medication) following an accident in which he sustained a back injury.
“Any time I get a chance to speak on this issue I jump at it,” Edgar said. “I was born and raised in this community (and) I still live in this community. I have three young kids and you hear stories like Mrs. Horner’s and it scares me, it scares the hell out of me.”
The stories shared a similar narrative: an individual sustains an injury, is prescribed a pain killer that can lead to addiction and becomes addicted to opioids or opiates before anyone realizes what has occurred.
Coronato said he will not be happy until he does not have to hear about a high school student, a young adult or a middle age adult dying from substance abuse.
“Lets go back, in 2012 we had 56 overdose deaths in Ocean County. When I became prosecutor in 2013 that went up to 112 (overdose deaths). In 2014 when we turned out Narcan (a drug that can reverse an overdose), the number went down to 101.
“In 2015, overdose deaths went up to 118 because we had fentanyl (a synthetic painkiller) that was being mixed in with heroin, and unfortunately in 2016 we had 211 people in Ocean County die here as a result of an opiate overdose,” the prosecutor said.
It was noted that the numbers reflect overdose deaths that were reported to the prosecutor’s office and not necessarily everyone who died of an overdose in the county in a specific year.
Al Della Fave, public affairs director at the prosecutor’s office, said officials are moving forward with the “Blue HART” program.
Blue HART (Heroin Addiction Recovery and Treatment) is a free program available to individuals battling addiction who wish to seek immediate help. The program makes it possible for a person to walk into a police department without fear of being arrested.
The program has also been referred to as the Heroin Addiction Response Program.
“People can walk in (to a police department) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and ask for help. If they want to turn in unused drugs the police will accept them and destroy them and the person will not be charged” with a crime, Della Fave said.
The Blue HART program has been deployed in Ocean County. It launched in early 2016 and since then, 280 participants entered the program and 175 individuals remain engaged. Through the program, police departments are paired with a treatment facility.
“We have seen a reduction in overdose fatalities of 25 percent,” Della Fave said.
Officials said they will continue to prosecute drug dealers and continue to seek to hold a drug dealer responsible if it can be proven the drugs a dealer sold later caused an individual’s death.
In Monmouth County, the Howell Police Department has collected more than 400 pounds of unwanted or expired prescription medications since December 2016 through the use of a medicine drop box in its lobby. Any individual can place unwanted drugs in the drop box 24 hours a day.
Other community efforts have also sought to remove unwanted or expired prescription medications from the township, according to the Howell Alliance.
Howell police said that during 2017, officers used Narcan in an attempt to reverse 10 suspected overdoses. Police said nine lives were saved through the use of the antidote and one individual died.
Manalapan and Marlboro, among other municipalities, also have drop boxes at their police headquarters in which unwanted and/or expired prescription medications may be placed.
