Richie Sambora, the guitarist for New Jersey rock band Bon Jovi, addressed the pervasiveness of drugs in the music industry and the growing heroin problem in the tri-state area while performing at the Ocean Country Drug Forum in Toms River on Memorial Day.

Richie Sambora Addresses Music & NJ's Heroin Problem

Sambora, 54, who has publically battled with drug and alcohol abuse that has landed him in rehab on a number of occasions, debuted his single "Lighthouse," which addresses the heroin epidemic in his home state, reported The Star Ledger. "I wanted to do something optimistic that was a beacon of light,” Sambora said at a press conference before the show. “A beacon of hope and everybody needs that lighthouse when they're far off the Jersey Shore.”

“People get to a point where they get overwhelmed and they drown in their doubt and that’s when they’re most vulnerable,” he added. “And that’s when you let your faith shine like a lighthouse.”

"Lighthouse" will soon be released on iTunes. Proceeds from the single will go to a drug rehab facility.

While Sambora seems to have beaten his own battle with addiction – which did not include heroin – he revealed that he’s known several musicians who haven’t been as fortunate. "The music business has its pitfalls and I was lucky enough to survive and be alive," Sambora said. "I know another nine, 10 guys that played with me when I was a kid who are dead from heroin. There's no getting out alive from this one. There's no messing around."

In 2013 alone, there were 294 arrests in Ocean County related to heroin, which also had a record-breaking 112 overdose deaths last year. The majority of overdose deaths stemmed from heroin use, reported the Ledger. The rise in heroin use and overdoses by users is thought to be a consequence of the drug’s cheapness ($3 to $6 a dose) and its increased purity (averaging 72%).