Odd pairing of phrases: drug overdose deaths, non-violent

Recent articles point to the record high number of deaths resulting from drug overdoses. President Obama is commuting the prison sentences of record numbers of drug offenders because they are “non-violent” offenders. Rarely will you see “non-violent” and “causing death” in the same sentence. What am I missing here?

This story was originally published January 12, 2017 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Odd pairing of phrases: drug overdose deaths, non-violent."