Why It Matters
New Jersey recorded its first year-over-year decline in fatal overdoses across all racial and ethnic groups in a decade, but Passaic County remains among the state’s hardest-hit areas. Paterson, the county seat, logged 107 unintentional fatal overdoses in 2024, prompting community groups to deploy round-the-clock access to overdose reversal medication in neighborhoods where traditional harm reduction centers operate only during business hours.
What Happened
Black Lives Matter Paterson installed five self-serve kiosks around the city, each stocked with approximately 50 boxes of naloxone, the medication that reverses opioid overdoses. The kiosks provide free access to the life-saving drug outside the operating hours of Paterson’s two harm reduction centers, which close evenings and weekends. Demand has been immediate. Kiosks installed near high-traffic areas emptied within days of placement, according to organizers.
Harm reduction specialists canvass neighborhoods to educate residents on overdose prevention and naloxone administration. The kiosks are located in areas identified as hotspots for substance use, including near convenience stores and public facilities where overdoses frequently occur.
By the Numbers
Passaic County ranked eighth among New Jersey’s 21 counties for unintentional fatal overdoses from opioids and other illicit drugs in 2024, according to state Department of Health data. Paterson accounted for 107 of those deaths. Statewide, overdose fatalities declined from more than 2,900 in 2022 to lower totals in 2023 and 2024. Nationally, overdose deaths dropped nearly 15 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, falling from roughly 110,000 in 2022 to 70,000 in 2025.
New Jersey operates more than 700 participating pharmacies offering free naloxone doses anonymously to anyone 14 years or older. Each Paterson kiosk holds roughly 50 boxes of the medication.
Zoom Out
Public health experts attribute the national and statewide decline in overdose deaths to expanded naloxone access, increased addiction treatment availability, growth of harm reduction programs, and heightened public awareness. However, deaths spiked in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico during the same period. As fentanyl supply chains face disruption, dozens of dangerous new additives are appearing in illicit drug supplies, complicating overdose prevention efforts.
A fentanyl dose equal to a few grains of salt can be lethal. Many overdoses involve substances unknowingly laced with fentanyl or other synthetic opioids, according to harm reduction workers on the ground.
What’s Next
Governor Mikie Sherrill, who took office in January, has proposed maintaining funding for the statewide naloxone initiative launched under former Governor Phil Murphy. The program provides free doses through pharmacies and harm reduction centers, both fixed and mobile. Community organizations plan to continue expanding kiosk placement in high-need areas and increasing neighborhood outreach to reduce stigma surrounding substance use and overdose response.