Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that drug overdose has become the leading cause of death in America. Authorities concerned have been trying to come up with ways to tackle heroin epidemic that is getting worse with time.

On Tuesday, American lawmakers have attended a House of Representatives judicial committee hearing. In the meeting, they came to know a four-time rise has come in the number of people taking an overdose of opioids in the last 10 years. Majority of the deaths have been taking place in high class and particularly among women.

Addiction to prescription drugs is the biggest entry to heroin. Rise in overdoses among women and high-class people may be due to previous addiction to prescribed pills.

Jack Riley, acting deputy administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, said, "There were over 43,000 deaths in 2013, or approximately 120 per day, over half of which involved either a prescription painkiller or heroin. These are our family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues".

Currently, there are more than 600,000 heroin users in the US and there are chances that the figure might be undercounted. Between 2008 and 2012, the DEA witnessed a 232% rise in drug busts along the Mexican border.

Authorities concerned have affirmed that the opioid epidemic has now become a suburban problem as well. The DEA and other experts think that there is a connection between drug cartels and small street groups in local towns.

Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said to the committee that to tackle the issue, they have been working to increase access to naloxone for first responders.