Over the past two decades, the increased use of opioids for legitimate medical purposes has been paralleled by a substantial increase in nonmedical use and abuse of opioids. The numbers are alarming and have risen to epidemic proportions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, with 165,000 people dying of overdoses related to prescription opioids from 1999 to 2014.