Dramatic rise in the use of heroin, which belongs to the same class as painkillers, opiods. In fact, four in five heroin users, new heroin users, started out by misusing Prescription Drugs. Then they switched to heroin, so, this really is a gateway drug, the Prescription Drugs, become a gateway to heroin. Between 2002 and 2013, the number of heroin related deaths in america nearly quadrupled, although the number of heroin overdoses is still far exceeded by the number of legal Prescription Drug overdoses. So, this crisis is taking lives. Its destroying families. Its shattering communities all across the country. Thats the thing about Substance Abuse. I doesnt discriminate. It touches everybody. From celebrities to College Students to soccer moms to inner city kids. White, black, hispanic, young, old, rich, poor. Urban, suburban, men and women. It can happen to a coal miner, a construction worker. A cop, whos taken a painkiller for a work related injury. It could happen to the doctor who