CDC: Opioids Appear to be Helping Drive Spiking Heroin Overdose Rates

The use of heroin, and the overdoses that come with it, rose rapidly from 2002 to 2013 -- and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes one reason for the trend is the widespread use of prescription opioids. Deaths from heroin overdose quadrupled from 2002 to 2013, with more than 8,200 people dying in 2013, according to a CDC announcement Tuesday. Some of the demographic groups with the highest rates of increase were those who have traditionally not been heavy users of heroin: women, people with high incomes and those who are covered under private insurance. Thomas Frieden, dir...