In the News

  • NYTimes.com: More Older Adults Are Struggling With Substance Abuse

    Posted 10/3/2014

    An estimated 2.5 million older adults in the United States meet the criteria for alcohol abuse, and this number is expected to reach 5.7 million by 2020, according to a report in The Health & Social Work journal. In 2008, 231,200 people over 50 sought treatment for substance abuse, up from 102,700 in 1992, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency.

  • NJ.com: Statewide effort against drug abuse arrives in Middlesex County

    Posted 10/2/2014

    MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Physicians have to be the first line of defense in stemming the epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse sweeping New Jersey and the nation. That was the message given Wednesday by speakers at a symposium at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, the fifth one sponsored statewide this year by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.

  • National and State Leaders Gather at RWJ Hospital to Develop Solutions to NJ Opioid Abuse Epidemic

    Posted 10/1/2014

    NEW BRUNSWICK-- With New Jersey in the grips of an opioid abuse epidemic, physicians from across the state gathered at the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) Do No Harm Symposium today, to discuss and develop solutions to stem this public health crisis.

  • Reuters.com: In Pennsylvania, heroin easier to get than wine, cheaper than beer: report

    Posted 9/30/2014

    (Reuters) - Young people in rural Pennsylvania can buy heroin more easily than a bottle of wine and getting high with the opiate can be cheaper than buying a six pack of beer, according to an investigative report released on Tuesday.

  • NJ.com: Synthetic marijuana makes resurgence in Mercer County after N.J. ban

    Posted 9/27/2014

    MERCER COUNTY -- Although synthetic marijuana has been outlawed in New Jersey, Mercer County has seen a recent resurgence of the products in the hands of teens and young adults, according to local officials.

  • DailyRecord.com: Pharmacies, police accepting unwanted prescriptions today

    Posted 9/27/2014

    ...law enforcement agencies and pharmacies across the county are participating in Operation Take Back New Jersey, a DEA-sponsored initiative in which households between the hours of 10 a.m. to 2 pm. on Saturday, Sept. 27, can dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medications in a very anonymous manner. Syringes and other sharp instruments will not be accepted.

  • NJ.com: Symposium on opiate addiction planned for Wednesday in New Brunswick

    Posted 9/26/2014

    NEW BRUNSWICK —The federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will host a symposium Wednesday at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick on combating opiate addiction.

  • Wayne Cabot Interviews Angelo M. Valente on WCBS 880 AM

    Posted 9/24/2014

    Angelo M. Valente, Executive Director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, appeared with WCBS Afternoon Round-Up host, Wayne Cabot. Valente spoke about the heroin epidemic and the importance of early intervention.

  • NJ.com: N.J. legislature tackles addiction: List of bills included in major package

    Posted 9/17/2014

    The bills will be announced at a news conference in Trenton at noon. Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), who helped begin assembling the bill package in 2013, said he hopes the legislative action will bring about meaningful change and help shape the conversation about addiction moving forward in New Jersey as one about a public health crisis rather than a law enforcement problem.

  • ABCNews.Go.com: Prescription Drug Deaths Keep Rising: CDC

    Posted 9/16/2014

    Deaths from prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin nearly quadrupled between 1999 and 2011, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.