Sarah Howroyd only stopped using OxyContin when she realized it was more expensive than heroin. So she switched narcotics, graduating from the prescription painkiller she once took to control pain after a car accident to an illegal street drug that would later cost her fiancé his life.

Like millions of Americans battling opioid addiction, Howroyd says she never imagined a medication she got from her doctor would cause her life to unravel, sending her spiraling into addiction.