Another grim milestone in the midst of this pandemic. Nationwide, drug overdose deaths soared to more than 100,000 for the first time in a 12-month period — marking a 29% increase over the previous year. That’s according to provisional data from the CDC – which is adjusted to account for delays in reporting.

But New Jersey is just one of four states that saw overdose deaths decrease, even if only slightly. Between April 2020 and April 2021, fatalities here dropped by 1%. An estimated 2,918 people in New Jersey died of a drug overdose during that time period.