More teenagers are dying from drug overdoses

New, sobering statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: After seven years of mostly declining drug overdose death rates among people aged 15-19, the rate ticked back up in 2015 to 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people.

Opioids — especially heroin — are by far the leading cause of drug deaths for teenagers. Overdose deaths due to synthetic opioids like fentanyl more than doubled among teenagers from 2014 to 2015.

Why it matters: The opioid epidemic isn't just affecting prime-age working adults. It's also taking the lives of more high schoolers who are too young to vote.