Deaths by accidental overdose of opioids are rising sharply, due to a new source of more potent, readily available synthetic opioid drugs. Opioid overdoses have already caused the country’s overall death rate to increase in 2015, the first time since 1993, when the country was coming to grips with AIDS. And, “the worst is yet to come,” a drug court judge said during a panel at the 2017 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Forum, which was held March 27-28 in Washington.