The opioid epidemic: This N.J. county faces a record number of deadly overdoses

Camden County saw at least 191 people die from a heroin or fentanyl overdose in 2015.

CAMDEN -- It's a seasonably cold Tuesday morning in downtown Camden as dozens visiting the Urban Treatment Associates methadone clinic mill about in the shadow of City Hall.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back blonde hair saunters up and murmurs something about having some stuff for sale before suddenly realizing he's wandered into the middle of a drug awareness outreach push.

Just like that, he's gone and those who've managed to keep clean will live to see another day. In Camden County, 191 people out of the 1,587 across New Jersey -- weren't as lucky last year.

"The scourge of heroin is a reality that is affecting every single family across the nation, state of New Jersey and Camden County," Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli said.

'This deadly disease'

According to recently released data from the New Jersey Medical Examiner's Office, Camden County saw 115 fatal heroin overdoses in 2015. That's up from 91 in 2014. Fentanyl -- a prescription opioid far more powerful than heroin -- was attributed to 53 deaths in 2015, according to state data that shows it was responsible for a mere 12 in 2014.

In all, 191 people died from heroin or fentanyl overdoses in Camden County in 2015. Ocean, Essex and Monmouth counties came close, with 157, 146 and 122 deaths, respectively.

"During our brief period of time in existence we have embarked on progressive policies that will have long-term significance against the battle of opioid addiction," Cappelli said of the Camden County Addiction Awareness Task Force launched in 2014.

Drug outreach hits streets of Camden

"Whether it is getting Narcan in the hands of every police department in the county or setting up pill drop-offs in every town to properly dispose of prescription narcotics, we are working to break the hold of this deadly disease," Cappelli continued.

Beyond partnering with community groups and police departments, Cappelli said the task force has extended its arm into the professional sector to learn more about the disease of addiction.

"This does not stop with just kids and students, but also encompasses the education of medical professionals on identifying someone abusing opioids and looking at alternatives to the prescription of narcotics for pain relief," he continued.

'Truly an epidemic'

Bill Lynch, a member of the task force's education and prevention committee, and pharmacist at a South Jersey hospital, has spent many overnight shifts with overdose victims.

"It's truly an epidemic. The numbers are staggering," he said, adding that the anti-opioid drug naloxone is a life-saver if deployed quickly enough to reverse an overdose.

According to figures provided by Camden County officials, the anti-opioid nasal spray Narcan was deployed 337 times by law enforcement county-wide in 2015.

The Camden County Police Department has used the spray -- which blocks opioid receptors in the body -- to save the lives of more than 260 people since May 2014, including 90 this year. Camden County police figures released in October indicate officers encountered 27 fatal Camden City overdose victims out of nearly 500 overdose calls this year alone.

"I don't know where everybody's rock bottom is," he said of criticism surrounding repeated revivals of overdose victims, adding that he's seen some of those people who got involved in local programs eventually get clean and turn their lives around.

Asked if Camden City is to blame for pushing Camden County's fatal overdose numbers so high, Lynch said regional ports on both sides of the Delaware River provide the proximity to Camden and a means to quickly get smuggled drugs out for distribution.

Moreover, Lynch said the spread of fentanyl is attributed to the fact that it can be synthetically crafted in a lab -- not harvested from poppy seeds halfway across the globe.

"You can traffic fentanyl easier because you don't need as much," he said.