Blacks are now more likely to die of drug overdoses than whites, a reversal of the opioid epidemic's traditional toll.
. Blacks made up 28% of those — 172 deaths — a per-capita overdose rate of nearly two times that of whites.
“When things are good, they are not as good for people of color,” said Harrison Dillard, president of the Hunterdon County NAACP and a former narcotics investigator for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. “And when things are worse, they are that much worse for people of color.”Pew Research Center
Corey James, 52, who recently celebrated six months of sobriety, poses at a sober living home in Northfield, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Last year, James was battling addiction and living a desperate existence on the streets of Newark.Last year, Corey James was homeless and living a desperate existence on the streets of Newark, sleeping on friends’ couches or in abandoned homes and selling drugs to support his heroin addiction.
After decades of chasing drugs, Washington attends recovery support meetings and says he is committed to staying sober. Dr. Kaitlan Baston and Dr. Alexis LaPietra are two specialists in treating addiction who serve diverse communities on different sides of the state. Baston is the medical director of the Cooper Center for Healing in Camden, one of New Jersey’s heroin epicenters. LaPietra oversees addiction medicine at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, another hotbed.
And there are other disparities, including poverty and a lack of insurance, transportation or safe housing.