Heroin Tops the List of Drugs Most Frequently Involved in Overdose Deaths

Heroin was the drug most often involved in overdose deaths between 2010 and 2014, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other drugs commonly involved in overdoses included oxycodone, methadone, morphine, morphine, hydrocodone, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium).

More than 47,000 people in the United States died from drug overdoses in 2014, up from more than 38,000 in 2010.

“Opioids are responsible for a disproportionate number of injuries and deaths,” Dr. Caleb Alexander, a co-director for the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, told ABC News. “It’s only natural that policymakers and public health officials focus on opioids.”