Drug Overdoses Decreasing U.S. Lifespan:   A U.S. Government report found that life expectancy in 2017 dropped compared to the previous year.  Kerry Sheridan of AFP reports that over 70,000 drug overdoses, an increase of 9.6%, and a 3.7% increase in suicides are driving the numbers.  Drug overdoses from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and tramadol increased by 46% between 2016 and 2017.  This drop in life expectancy follows and earlier drop between 2015 and 2016.  The chief of mortality statistics for the National Center for Health Statistics noted that the country has not seen a similar trend since the great flu pandemic of 1918 and  World War 1.  Perhaps securing the nation's borders to slow the trafficking of illegal drugs would save some lives.