“The state’s opioid addiction toll on young people is staggering. Last year 1,587 people died of overdoses. The Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse reported some 4,200 people under the age of 25 were admitted to substance abuse treatment programs in 2012. And those addicted to prescription painkillers dwarfed the number addicted to heroin, hallucinogens and cocaine combined. Lawmakers are considering requiring doctors and dentists to discuss the dangers and alternatives to opioid-based painkillers before prescribing them to young people. The executive director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is Angelo Valente.”
