The growing number of deaths from heroin and prescription painkiller overdoses in the United States is an "urgent and growing public health crisis," Attorney General Eric Holder says.
In a video message released Monday, he noted that heroin overdose deaths rose by 45 percent between 2006 and 2010, the Washington Post reported.
"When confronting the problem of substance abuse, it makes sense to focus attention on the most dangerous types of drugs," Holder said. "And right now, few substances are more lethal than prescription opiates and heroin."
"Addiction to heroin and other opiates -- including certain prescription painkillers -- is impacting the lives of Americans in every state, in every region, and from every background and walk of life -- and all too often, with deadly results," the attorney general added.
He also listed a number of ways that the Justice Department is trying to tackle the problem, the Post reported.