Deadly drug overdoses more than doubled since 1999

(USA Today, Feb 24) Bolstered by a huge increase in cases involving heroin, the rate at which Americans die from drug overdoses has more than doubled since the end of the millennium.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data Friday showing the nation's overdose rate at 16.3 per 100,000 people in 2015 — more than 2.5 times the rate it was in 1999. Read more.