Obama Faces Heroin and Opiate Epidemic Listen Download Embed Share Share this on Facebook (Opens in a new window) Share this on Twitter (Opens in a new window) Share this via Email According to the CDC, drug overdose deaths have more than tripled since 1990. Most of those deaths have been caused by prescription painkillers. ( Copyright: SerialCoder / Shutterstock ) Produced by Oliver Lazarus and Thalia Beaty Produced by PRI and WNYC