LEGAL
Tigger House Foundation is dedicated to achieving a positive impact by reducing the death rate of heroin and opiate addiction.
To achieve our goal we have established respectful working relationships with Law Enforcement, Drug Court, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Governor’s Task Force and multiple agencies working to interrupt and stop the flow of illicit opiate prescription drugs and heroin being distributed to our sons and daughters.
There are many organizations involved in the battle against illegal drugs and predatory dealers, whether they have a medical license or are standing on a street corner, and for the safety and survival of our children and young adults. As a Foundation, we will continue to expand our resources and our voice in the community. The silence will end and we will let the public know what is being done and what needs to be done. There are many working hard that we will be joining in the efforts that they have very tirelessly begun. We will continue to add to this list and encourage you to contact us.
THE GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG ABUSE
GCADA was established pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:2BB from which the Council executes three core functions: policy and planning; public awareness and education; and, the administration of the Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Program. One of its Committee’s is the Criminal Justice Subcommittee which is responsible for: advising the Council regarding criminal justice services and planning activities in New Jersey as they relate to alcoholism and drug abuse; coordinating and collaborate with state, county and federal agencies, criminal justice organizations to identify gaps and best-practices in criminal justice services as they relate to alcoholism and drug abuse treatment; identifying and develop new, outcome-based criminal justice initiatives as well as evaluation criteria as they relate to alcoholism and drug abuse; andRecord activities of Criminal Justice subcommittee.
In 2014, The Governor’s Council released its Task Force Findings on Heroin and Other Opiate Use By New Jersey’s Youth and Young Adults: CONFRONTING NEW JERSEY’S NEW DRUG PROBLEM: A STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN TO ADDRESS A BURGEONING HEROIN/OPIATE EPIDEMIC AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS
A quote from the Task Force’s Report:
“We certainly do not mean to suggest that all or even most overdose incidents involve street heroin. Far too many hospital admissions and overdose deaths result directly from the ingestion of prescription pills – medications that had been manufactured in accordance with quality-control standards and that bear dosing instructions and warning labels. Indeed, as we noted…overdoses resulting from the ingestion of prescription opioids are the number one cause of accidental death in America today. The point, rather, is that we cannot ignore how heroin has entered the lives of persons who, according to conventional stereotypes, would not be suspected of falling prey to heroin – a point underscored…
The high purity level of the street heroin that floods New Jersey’s illicit drug market has other consequences besides the enhanced risk of overdose. The purer the heroin, the easier it is to metabolize the substance in the human body. Today, the heroin sold on the street is so potent that users can get high by snorting or smoking it. Persons who would be reluctant to inject heroin intravenously can thus painlessly ingest it. As a result, one of the natural inhibitions against heroin use – the discomfort and fear of infection associated with hypodermic needles – is avoided. This not only makes heroin more seductive, but also makes it harder for families and friends to detect ongoing abuse. Many heroin users today cannot be revealed by needle-tracks on their arms. For these users, the scars of their addiction are terribly real, but harder to see.”
The full report can be found at: www.gcada.nj.gov
The Governor also requested another report, in July of 2013 The State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation SCENES FROM AN EPIDEMIC: A Report on the SCI’s Investigation of Prescription Pill and Heroin Abuse
A quote from this report can be found in their Referrals and Recommendations section:
“ The record of this investigation demonstrates that the challenges posed by drug abuse
have taken on disturbing new dimensions that call into question the conventional wisdom
regarding gateway drugs and addiction, and the adequacy of current medical oversight and law
enforcement strategies. We now live in a State where the abuse of legitimate prescription pills
serves increasingly as a route to the unlawful world of heroin, which is cheap, widely available
and so pure it can be used without the junkie stigma or mess of needles while producing a high
matching or exceeding that of any legitimate pharmaceutical painkiller. This tangled
intersection of legal and illicit narcotics constitutes a crisis whose multiple consequences are
plain for all to see: the countless deaths and damaged lives, the spiking crime, the subverted
recesses of the medical and pharmaceutical professions, the exploitation by gangs and other
criminal elements.The scope and complexity of these issues demand a creative, multi-faceted
response by policymakers, legislators, regulators and law enforcement. Those responsible for
policing physicians, pharmacists and others in the medical community need to re-examine and
strengthen mechanisms to ensure appropriate professional oversight and accountability.
Criminal justice authorities need new tools and new statutory authority to address this growing
phenomenon. More fundamentally, as noted at the outset of this report, the public
Conversation about establishing a sensible drug policy needs to be broadened and amplified.”
The full text of this report can be found at: http://www.nj.gov/sci/pdf/PillsReport.pdf
Although Opiate Dependency is a “treatable disease”, often our youth are criminally charged as heroin is an illegal narcotic. Tigger House Foundation has a well - established relationship with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Drug Court System. The Foundation is committed to working with all areas of Law Enforcement to help dismantle the easy supply of illicit narcotics being supplied to our youth.
Tigger House, with local Law Enforcement in Monmouth County, and through mutual respect and cooperation, is dedicated to accomplishing our Mission: achieving a positive impact by reducing the death rate of heroin and opiate addiction.