America is in the midst of a heroin epidemic. Last month the National Governors Association accepted a proposal to establish guidelines on prescribing the painkillers that are abused and often lead to heroin abuse. If that sounds like a backward way to deal with heroin addiction, consider these facts.

According to a New York Times article, 75 percent of heroin addicts used these prescription painkillers before turning to heroin. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control reports that 45 percent of people who used heroin (between 2011 and 2013) were also addicted to prescription painkillers.

Why did this happen? In previous decades, prescription painkillers became cheap and plentiful. When authorities began to crack down on unscrupulous doctors who were overprescribing pain meds, addicts began searching for alternatives. Many chose heroin.

The heroin epidemic is upon us because of demand and supply. The demand was fueled by many already addicted to painkillers looking for another high. But we should also look at supply. Ann Coulter in a recent column reminds us that it is “harder to stay away from drugs when Mexico is flooding the country with them.” The amount of heroin seized at the border increased six-fold from 2007 to 2013. Heroin use doubled during that same period.

Not only are illegal immigrants coming across our border. So are illegal drugs. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been in the news because of his prison escape. He has bragged that he supplied “more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana than anybody else in the world.” I might also add that these drug lords are also bringing in lots of prescription painkillers.

We need to not only crack down on prescription drug abuse, but we also need to close our border to illegal drug trafficking.