Last year, the state recorded the first year-over-year decrease in fatal drug overdoses in at least a decade. But while drug-related deaths may be declining overall in New Jersey, they are increasing among Black people and seniors of all races.
‘…it’s going to increase the likelihood of detention and incarceration, and there’s no racial and ethnic impact statement to see whether this is going to exacerbate New Jersey’s already stark racial disparities.’ — Yannick Wood, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
The bill will have the exact opposite of its intended effect while hurting people struggling with their drug use, re-crowd prisons and jails, make the drug supply more deadly and make it less likely for people who use drugs to get help, Mellor said.