New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a step forward Tuesday to achieving his goal for his final year in office when he signed an executive order declaring opioid drug use a public health crisis and establishing a drug task force.
"We must take aggressive action to get this insidious crisis under control so I am calling together all resources of state government in order to save lives," said Christie in a news release. "The human cost of this epidemic is incalculable, impacting every part of life in New Jersey, affecting our education system, our health care system, public safety and the financial security of every person it touches."
In his 2017 State-of-the-State Address, the two-term Republican called for Garden State lawmakers to tackle heroin and prescription drug abuse.
"I will not have the blood of addicted New Jerseyans on my hands because we waited to act," he told lawmakers. "I will not willingly watch another 1,600 of our citizens die and watch their families mourn and suffer."
New Jersey has seen a 22-percent increase in deadly drug overdoses between 2014 and 2015, then a 30-percent increase in heroin deaths in the past year, said the Christie Administration.
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Christie’s executive order calls for the creation of the Governor’s Task Force on Drug Abuse Control to be headed by Charlie McKenna, executive director of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. The eight-member task force will be "charged with developing and executing a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to combat the drug-abuse epidemic by working with all areas of state government, in addition to local, federal, and private entities, as well as the Facing Addiction Task Force."
Christie also called for educators to teach children about the dangers of substance abuse.
Christie already established a new phone and online helpline at reachnj.gov and 1-844-ReachNJ to those battling addiction.
"Opioid drug abuse is one of the most challenging issues facing us not only as Americans but as New Jerseyans," said Christie. "The crisis is pervasive – impacting our families, friends, neighbors and coworkers. The steps I am taking today through this Executive Order recognize the severity of the crisis and pull together the efforts of all state government agencies." [[410976805, C]]
