Prescription Opioid Deaths Level; Heroin-related Deaths Rise – [January 13, 2015] the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is announcing the 2013 drug overdose mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data show that drug deaths related to prescription opioids have remained stable since 2012, but the mortality rate associated with heroin increased for the third year in a row. The data show a 6% increase in all drug poisoning deaths from 2012, and a 1% increase in deaths involving opioid analgesics over 2012. Deaths involving heroin had the largest upsurge overall, with a 39% increase from 2012, while deaths involving cocaine increased 12%. These results demonstrate that while the Administration’s efforts to curb the epidemic of the nonmedical use of prescription drugs is working, much more work is needed to improve the way we prevent and treat substance use disorders. “The data announced today underscore that the nation’s drug problem is evolving, and requires a comprehensive solution—including preventing drug use before it ever begins, reducing the supply coming from foreign nations, educating our nation’s youth on the risks of substance use, and the work of our nation’s Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to continue reducing the amount of trafficking within the United States,” said Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.”

• For more information about the Office of National Drug Control Policy visit: www.whitehouse.gov/DrugPolicyReform
• For information on the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program visit: www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/high-intensity-drug-trafficking-areas-program
• View CDC’s 2013 mortality data, including drug-induced deaths, here.