Figures shared by New Jersey officials offer another glimpse into the skyrocketing use of methamphetamine throughout the state over the course of just a few years.

Federal and state officials have been warning the public about the resurgence of meth, a synthetic stimulant, in the Northeast since late last decade. Statistics presented during an overdose webinar in late May show the number of lives meth has been claiming on a yearly basis, after taking zero lives as recently as seven years ago.

The methamphetamine death rate in New Jersey jumped by 733% in a matter of years leading up to 2019, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, which were presented by New Jersey Chief State Medical Examiner Andrew Falzone.

New Jersey's jump was the largest in the nation, according to the data. Ohio was No. 2, at 670%.

A map (pictured below) presented by Falzone illustrates methamphetamine's shift from a mostly-western problem to a nationwide issue.

Screenshot from Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day webinar
Screenshot from Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day webinar
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New Jersey recorded 187 meth-related deaths in 2020, according to data presented by Falzone. That count was zero in 2015, and 2016.

"After 2016, there was a sharp increase," Falzone said.

Methamphetamine's increased presence is likely linked to a Mexican drug cartel, which is creating meth with purity levels approaching 100%, officials have said. At the same time, the price of the drug is appealing, and methamphetamine can help with one's heroin withdrawal symptoms, or counter the sedation effect of opioids on someone who's using more than one substance.

Falzone cited "poly-substance" overdose deaths — involving more than one drug — as another issue for the Garden State.

In 2020, about 12% of New Jersey's methamphetamine-related deaths involved meth alone. More than two-thirds, meanwhile, involved the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

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