Governor Christie Announces New Toolkit To Help Towns Fight Drug Addiction

Resources Now Available On ReachNJ.Gov

For Immediate Release                                                                Contact:  Brian Murray

Monday, November 13, 2017                                                                    609-777-2600

Trenton NJ – Governor Chris Christie today launched the ReachNJ Municipal Toolkit, a collection of resources designed to assist local leaders as they fight the opioid epidemic in their communities.

The Governor also extended the invitation to his second Candlelight Vigil that will take place in Trenton at 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 6. Last year’s vigil on the State House steps was successful in bringing together several hundred members of the recovery community and its many supporters.

“This toolkit shares strategies for municipal officials to prevent drug abuse before it starts, to connect with those in need of help in beating an addiction and to inform people with drug problems and their families about the expanding resources available to them,” said Governor Christie. “I will work until the day I leave office and beyond to explore every avenue to combat the disease of addiction and save more lives.”

Included in the toolkit are: Save the Dates and other materials related to the Governor’s 2^nd Annual Candlelight Vigil; the “Not In My House” and Mayor’s Pledge; opioid addiction fact sheet; Social Media Graphics and web ads for placement by towns; multiple sizes of ReachNJ posters; prescription drug drop-off posters; and a sampling of ReachNJ ads and video clips.

Four out of five new heroin users started by misusing prescription painkillers. Even more alarming, a Centers for Disease Control report reveals that health care providers in the year 2012 alone wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pills.

In addition, an estimated 20 percent of juveniles with currently prescribed opioid medications report using those medications intentionally to get high or increase the effects of alcohol or other drugs.

To find the ReachNJ Municipal Toolkit and other prevention, treatment and recovery resources, visit www.reachnj.gov. To find help for an addiction problem, call the state’s 24/7 helpline at 1-844-REACHNJ.

www.nj.gov/governor/