Prosecutor Knapp and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Brad Seabury Conduct Wharton Borough Opioids and Addiction Forum

Published on April 02, 2018

On March 29, Prosecutor Fredric Knapp and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Brad Seabury spoke at the Stigma Free Morris County: Wharton Borough Opioids and Addiction Forum hosted by the Wharton Board of Education. The event was hosted by the Wharton Municipal Alliance and the Wharton Police Department at MacKinnon Middle School. The event included a presentation by Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, Members of Morris Center for Addiction Recovery Education & Success (CARES), the Morris County Juvenile Corrections facility, as well as Deirdre's House also provided resources to those attending.

Lieutenant Dave Young of the Wharton Police Department began the event and welcomed the community members in attendance, and thanked all of the participants.

Following Lieutenant Young, Prosecutor Knapp spoke about the importance of these educational events for the Morris County community. He also discussed the various ways that the Morris County Prosecutor's Office is combatting the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic, specifically the implementation of the Narcan 2.0 program. This program in partnership with Morris CARES, gives people who have received Narcan reversals an easier path to receive the treatment and support that they need.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Seabury delivered what he likes to call his Opiates 101 presentation to further educate the audience about the Epidemic. One of the driving points in his roughly one hour presentation, is that people need to forget about the stigma that surrounds the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic. While no one may believe that it is happening around them, CAP Seabury makes it a point for everyone in the audience to look to their right and left as a way of understanding that substance abuse disorder can happen to anyone. He also recognized the efforts of the municipal police departments of Morris County, who have done an impressive job in working with both the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and Morris County Sheriff's Office to combat this epidemic.

Sheriff Gannon's presentation focused on the Hope One program and the partnership with Morris CARES. Hope One is a vehicle that parks in various towns throughout Morris County offering free counseling, training, and even treatment for anyone who is either suffering from a heroin or opioid addiction, or knows someone who is. Sheriff Gannon announced that this program will be implemented in Newark, as well as Atlantic and Monmouth Counties in the near future.

Morris County continues to be at the forefront of combatting the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic, and programs such as this play a large role in that. It is a community effort, and as more people are educated on this, lives can and will be saved.

Inquiries concerning this press release should be directed to Public Information Officer Peter DiGennaro at pressinquiry@co.morris.nj.us or 973-829-8159.