In counties all across America, morgues are full — too full, in fact, to even conduct proper autopsies. Children have been orphaned, families destroyed, and too many grandparents now carry the burden of raising their grandchildren.

Opioids, which are commonly prescribed for chronic pain, are responsible for creating one of the biggest public health crises America has ever seen. And yet, one of the more shocking determinants behind this epidemic is not widely reported.