More people die from painkiller overdoses than from heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.

In the past ten years, overdoses from painkillers have greatly increased. Nearly 15,000 people annually die from overdoses involving painkillers alone. These sorts of overdoses are a public health epidemic right now because of their mass misuse and overuse.


1 in 20 people in the United States 12 and older have misused prescription painkillers, or used them nonmedically. This is partly because some people use it to get "high," but includes any people that use them without a prescription.
Additionally, the 15,000 people killed by painkillers in 2008 is more than three times the amount killed in 1999. Nonmedical use of prescription painkillers costs health insurers up to $72.5 billion annually in direct health care costs.
Needless to say, it's dangerous to use these without a prescription, so don't do it.