In the News
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NYTimes.com: Prescription Painkillers Seen as a Gateway to Heroin
Posted 2/10/2014
The life of a heroin addict is not the same as it was 20 years ago, and the biggest reason is what some doctors call “heroin lite”: prescription opiates. These medications are more available than ever, and reliably whet an appetite that, once formed, never entirely fades.
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CNN.com: One snapshot in a tragic national picture: Long Island sees exploding heroin use
Posted 2/9/2014
New York (CNN) -- The first time Chris shot up heroin, he was too scared to do it himself. So his friend did it for him -- when he was 16. "I would shoot up mostly in my feet," he said. "It escalated to almost five or six bags every time I shot up."
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NY Times: How to Stop Heroin Deaths
Posted 2/7/2014
I am an emergency physician at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital, but I rarely see victims die of heroin overdose because most fatalities occur before patients get to the hospital. Overdoses often take place over one to three hours. People just slowly stop breathing; often they are assumed to be sleeping deeply, or they are alone.
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NJ.com: Fentanyl outbreak reaches NJ: Police say tainted heroin led to 9 overdoses, deaths
Posted 2/6/2014
At least nine people have died or been hospitalized in NJ in recent months after overdosing on fentanyl-laced heroin, and law enforcement officials say they fear the potent synthetic chemical, which has been linked to dozens of deaths in the Northeast, is spreading like wildfire throughout the Garden State.
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Angelo M. Valente, Ex. Dir. PDFNJ, Featured on Fox News' Geraldo at Large
Posted 12/16/2013
Angelo Valente, Executive Director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey was featured on Geraldo At Large to discuss the heroin abuse epidemic along with Angela Cicchino, a recovering heroin addict.
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Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey Honored by National Affiliate
Posted 12/12/2013
MILLBURN - The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is being honored with this year’s Alliance Achievement Award from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
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Families Challenged to Tackle Prescription Drug Abuse Across US
Posted 11/7/2013
FORT LAUDERDALE --- On November 9, 2013 the 4th Annual American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) --- a national public health initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and encourage safe disposal will be held in communities throughout the nation.
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National and State Leaders Address Solutions to NJ Rx Epidemic at Symposium
Posted 11/4/2013
HACKENSACK--- Physicians from across New Jersey gathered with national and state leaders at Hackensack University Medical Center October 30, 2013 to discuss solutions to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse at the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) Do No Harm Symposium.
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njspotlight.com: Doctors Hearof Horrors of Epidemic of Prescription Drug Addiction
Posted 10/31/2013
Assistant state medical examiner reports more than 700 deaths yearly due to misuse of medicines
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NJ.com: Rx Drug Disposal Event
Posted 10/29/2013
The Safe Communities Coalition of Hunterdon and Somerset County is urging residents to take the American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) on Saturday, Nov. 9.