Alisa Martinez, a patrol officer in Ocean Township, holds up a spray dispenser for Narcan, which police in central New Jersey have begun using to reverse drug overdoses. Within 48 hours of Ocean Township receiving the heroin antidote Narcan, its police force saved the life of a 40-year-old woman who had overdosed.
“She had suffered from addiction before,” Ocean Township Police Chief Steve Peters said. “She was staying with a relative, and they had found her and they called us. Thankfully they did, because if they had returned home any later, it would have been too late.”
Narcan is currently being used in Monmouth and Ocean counties as part of a state pilot program in response to the worsening heroin epidemic. On June 17, Gov. Chris Christie announced that the antidote would be made available to police throughout the state.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Marc LeMieux said Narcan is a helpful tool in dealing with the problem, but it is not a cure-all.
Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Marc LeMieux demonstrates how to properly administer Narcan during a press conference at the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Police and first-aid personnel in Monmouth and Ocean counties are now equipped with kits and packs of the heroin antidote. “The epidemic of prescription opiates and heroin deaths is a staggering statistic that every person has to concern themselves with today,” he said.
Heroin-overdose deaths in Ocean County spiked from 53 in 2012 to 112 last year. Monmouth County has recorded more than 180 heroin-overdose deaths since 2011.
“We can no longer turn a blind eye and dismiss this situation as an inner-city problem, or a problem seen in the poorer areas of the county,” LeMieux said. “Heroin addiction is affecting families from every walk of life — in the affluent suburbs, in the board rooms of major corporations, from rock stars to Academy Award winners and desperate people in desperate times.” Narcan, he said, is just one step in the right direction. “It just buys time to save lives, and hopefully, to get them treatment,” LeMieux said.
On June 5, Ocean Township police officers Zachary Rhein and Kevin Redmond responded to a 911 call reporting that the 40-year-old woman was found unconscious and unresponsive in the basement of the home. The officers found her cold body lying face up. Her breathing was shallow and she was turning blue, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Information at the scene led the officers to believe that the woman was experiencing a heroin overdose. They sprayed two doses of Narcan into the woman’s nose, and she regained consciousness and was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune.
“On the second dose, the victim became conscious, but time is a huge factor. Over the [following] weekend, we had a 25-yearold die of an overdose. We could not get there in time,” Peters said.
“It is a concern of mine and other law enforcement executives that, while the issuance of the Narcan is going to save someone’s life, the key thing is that they get help in the future. We make every effort to get the person to the hospital, and then … the services of the hospital will get that person in the right direction.”
In Marlboro, another save occurred within a week of Narcan being distributed to police departments across Monmouth County.
“It was a 33-year-old male under the influence of opiates. Narcan was administered by our officers, and he regained consciousness. Every one of our officers carries it,” Marlboro police Lt. Christopher Cherbini said.
“We are pleased we can save a life and give someone another chance. If they have a problem, they can work to get it straightened out. It is just one of those things where now we have another tool in our toolbox to help out the community.”
Some 300 units of Narcan have been sent to police departments in Monmouth County and an additional 150 units are on the way, Webster said. The anti-overdose drug was purchased with funds seized from drug raids, he noted.
LeMieux explained how Narcan works at a June 3 press conference.
“Narcan is an opiate overdose antidote that specifically reverses the effects of whatever drug they may be on. It restores the person’s breathing, it is safe, it is effective and it has no potential for abuse,” he said.
“A law enforcement officer will do an initial assessment before administering Narcan. If a person is conscious, they will not administer Narcan. They will only administer it when someone is unconscious, has slow or no breathing at all, and in some situations, has small pupils. It is administered nasally — one shot in each nostril.”
The New Jersey State Police will soon receive Narcan packets to carry while on duty, and security officers at both Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, have received Narcan, LeMieux said. Members of every law enforcement agency that has received Narcan have been trained in how to use the drug and how to spot a heroin overdose, he added.
“The concept was to train one or two officers in each police department, and then have them train the rest of their dep artment,” LeMieux said of the Train the Trainer program for Narcan.
Dr. Kenneth Lavelle, medical advisor of the Narcan program for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office, hosted the Train the Trainer program at the Monmouth County Police Academy in Freehold Township. Members of law enforcement agencies in Monmouth and Middlesex counties attended the program.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office is considering the rollout of the Narcan program, according to spokesman Jim O’Neill.
Old Bridge police Capt. Arthur Carullo said some officers on his police force have been trained in anticipation of receiving Narcan, but its use has not yet been approved by the prosecutor’s office.
“We here are on board with it and are anticipating implementation,”
Carullo said. “I think it is a good thing.”
But Carullo said it is troublesome to learn that some people think it is now safer to use heroin because of the availability of Narcan.
“If someone should take heroin and they pass out someplace where we cannot get to them in time, [Narcan] will not help. It has to be done quickly,” he said. “I am sure it will not work for everyone, but it is an improvement. Every little bit helps.”
Ocean County has been using the antidote to save lives since April.
“We have had about 40 reversals [of drug overdoses] to date,” said Al Della Fave, public information officer for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Della Fave said his office has been contacted by law enforcement agencies in every county, and from states including Virginia and Wisconsin, seeking direction on how to get Narcan.
“If it is this successful at this point, then there is no telling what we could accomplish if everyone had it,” he said.
Emergency medical technicians in both Monmouth and Ocean counties have been cleared to carry the antidote, as well.
But Della Fave said that while first aid squad members and police units are authorized to use Narcan as needed, heroin is still as dangerous as ever.
“[Nobody] should ever get that complacency or confidence that [Narcan] will work in every case. Once an opiate shuts down your breathing and you are not attended to quickly, there could be brain damage or death,” he said.
Narcan represents a second chance for those people whose overdoses are reversed, Della Fave said.
“When they are that close to death, they might rethink their path in life,” he said, adding that officers provide families with contact information for social services and other resources that may be helpful. Also, a video posted on the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office website offers information on obtaining a Narcan prescription for a loved one and how to administer it, he said.
Middletown police Lt. Robert Stefanski said he worries about first-time heroin users as much as those who are in the throes of addiction, and he hopes Narcan can serve as the first step in assisting them.
“I think it’s going to help, if only for the lone fact that for anyone who is a first- or second-time user, we have to bring them back from dying,” he said. “Hopefully, it will be that wake-up call for them to get help.”