The Detroit News reports....In 2015, Michigan saw its third consecutive year of record drug overdose deaths. That year, 1,981 people died from drug overdoses, up 13.5% from 2014. Over the last 17 years, deaths from drug overdoses quadrupled, up from 455 in 1999. Nationwide there were 52,404 drug overdose deaths in 2015 - a rate of 16.3 deaths per 100,000 residents - 63% involved an opioid, The record level of drug overdose deaths in Michigan and across the country has been attributed to the increasing availability of opioids in both legal (prescription opioids) and illicit forms (heroin and illegally produced fentanyl).