The opioid epidemic is a serious issue that faces New Jersey. According to NJ.com there were 2,200 deaths from drug overdoses in New Jersey in 2016. The article states, "The rise in 2016 was likely propelled by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that has become ubiquitous in New Jersey's drug trade in recent years." Between 2015 and 2016 there was about a 40% increase in drug related deaths in New Jersey.

NJ.com did a breakdown per county and here is where South Jersey falls.

Atlantic County

There was a 101.5% increase of drug related deaths between 2015 and 2016 with 171. Atlantic County saw the biggest percentage increase between the two years.

Burlington County

In 2016 there were 96 deaths. The increase from 2015 to 2016 was 10.3%.

Camden County

There were 200 drug related deaths in 2016 with a 4.7% increase from 2015.

Cape May County

Cape May county had no increase in deaths between 2015 and 2016 with 32 deaths.

Cumberland County

53 people died related to drug use in Cumberland county in 2016, which iss a 39.5% increase from the previous year.

Gloucester County

In 2016 there were 88 drug related deaths, which is a 35.4% increase.

Ocean County

Ocean County had the second highest amount of deaths in the state in 2016 with 253. The increase between 2015 and 2016 was 61.1%.

Salem County

Just like Cape May county Salem had no increase between 2015 and 2016. In 2016 there were 18 drug related deaths.

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