Berkeley, Lacey Make The Top 30 List of New Jersey Towns With Most Heroin Abuse Cases

Berkeley and Lacey township have the dubious distinction of making the state's top 30 towns with the number of people treated for heroin abuse in 2016.

The state Department of Human Services' Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services recently released the numbers in their Substance Abuse Overview.

Berkeley was named the 13th highest municipality with heroin abuse problems, with 248 cases. Lacey was number 15 on the list, with 225 cases in 2016.

Watch: These Drugs Just Surpassed Heroin As The Deadliest Opioids In The US

Ocean County municipalities with higher numbers included Toms River and Brick. Toms River was number 6 on the list, with 667 cases, Brick was number 8, with 436 cases. The higher numbers are to be expected in those towns, because they each have more than double the populations of Berkley and Lacey.

Other Southern Ocean County towns unfortunately also made the top 30 list. Little Egg Harbor came in at number 17, with 210 cases. Stafford was number 27, with 176 cases.

Barnegat did not make the list, but had 137 cases in 2016. Tuckerton had 77 cases, according to the report.

In the northern part of Ocean County, Point Pleasant had 80 cases in 2016. Point Pleasant Beach was far lowr, with only 12 cases.

To read the entire report, click here.

Photo: Patch file photo