Between 2015 and 2017 opioid- and synthetic opioid-involved death rates among Blacks in two key age groups have doubled in large metro areas. Those aged 45 to 54 years increased from 19.3 to 41.9 per 100,000 and death rates among those 55 to 64 years of age increased from 21.8 to 42.7 per 100,000. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)BLACK VOICE NEWS — Although all racial, ethnic and age groups saw significant increases in opioid-and synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths between 2015 and 2017, death rates among Blacks in large metropolitan areas is cause for growing alarm in these communities.