According to the CDC, opioids (typically prescription pain relievers and heroin) are the main driver of overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 28,647 deaths in 2014, an increase of nearly 4x since the year 2000. Heroin accounted for 10,574 deaths in 2014. How many of the total deaths in 2014 were prescription drug deaths? More than 14,000 So what are the most dangerous prescription drugs today