Drug fatalities, which are claiming a life every 14 minutes, have outnumbered car fatalities in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

However, the drugs that are responsible for the rise in drug related deaths are not due to illegal drugs, but to prescription drugs.

The last place one would even think that an addict or someone looking to get high would be looking is in his or her own home.

But that is exactly where they are turning to, their own medicine cabinets.

“People think that just because they are taking a drug that is prescribed by a doctor, they think that it isn’t as bad as taking an illegal drug,” Debbie Conover, registered nurse and coordinator of the Health Center, said.

Even if a person is taking a prescribed drug, the side effects can be greater especially if it isn’t one’s own prescription, she said.

According to a recent article on prescription drugs in the Los Angeles Times, in 2008, drug overdoses caused 36,450 deaths in the U.S. and one or more prescription drugs were involved in 20,044 of those deaths, CDC and Prevention researchers wrote in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

A little more than 10 years ago, only about 4,000 people were killed by overdosing on these drugs, according to the CDC.

“Prescription drugs are given to a patient by their doctor,” Conover said. “That person can be of lower or heavier weight than the person abusing them. It is specifically prescribed to the patient, not for anyone else. If taken by anyone else, it can be very dangerous.”

According to the National Drug Abuse website, the most commonly abused prescription drugs are those that are prescribed to treat pain like opioids. These drugs are prescribed for the central nervous system which help to treat anxiety.

“And to know that one could die even with drugs given by a doctor is really shocking,” Jocelyn Atacio, 18, science and biology major, said.

By looking up symptoms on the web, a person can report back to their own physician and get the prescription they desire, Conover said.

“The truth is, people can find a doctor who will give them what they are looking for,” she said. “They can go through a number of doctors, but in the end, they will find someone.”

According to the CDC website, the reason that opioid drugs are addictive and easily abused is because the drug induces euphoria by affecting the brain regions that mediate what we perceive as pleasure.

The feeling is usually intensified for people who abuse opioids when taken other than directed. OxyContin is known to be snorted or injected by abusers in order to enhance its euphoric effects and while at the same time increasing the risk for an opioid overdose.

While some people obtain these drugs illegally, some people get addicted to these prescription drugs after they have been prescribed to them, Conover said. For example, athletes who have injuries are known to get addicted to painkillers as they rely on them heavily in order to perform.

The Health Services Center offers free information for people looking for more information about prescription drug abuse.

“A lot of people are constantly using them,” Tiare Nguyen, 20, sign language major, said. “It’s causing deaths. A friend of mine used a lot of prescriptions and eventually became deaf.”