The U.S. government is creating a task force specifically focused on tackling the nation`s
opioid crisis. That and how
the crisis is affecting America`s workforce is our first subject today on CNN 10.
Our nation is facing the deadliest drug epidemic in our history.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the government is committed to reducing the amount
of prescription opioids that are in the U.S.,
reducing the number of addictions and reducing the number of overdose deaths that drugs can
cause. The Trump administration says in 2016, an
estimated 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, the highest number ever recorded,
and that preliminary information suggests that 2017 was even
worse. It says overdoses of opioids, which include prescription painkillers, heroin and
synthetic drugs, made up the vast majority of drug
deaths.
Critics have said that through this January, the Trump administration hadn`t committed
enough funding to make a noticeable difference in the
opioid epidemic.
The White House says its $6 billion increase for the fight against opioids which President
Donald Trump signed earlier this month was the most the
government had ever committed to the cause.
Taft Farms has been in the family for decades. Dan Tawczynski and his son Paul
have seen every kind of economy, but this, this is new.
We have had ads running in the paper, ads running online. And I have a stack of applications
of people
that I wouldn`t dream of hiring.
A shortage of workers.
Qualified people are few and far between. It`s not that people can`t run a cash register.
It`s not that people can`t make a
sandwich. When you look at their job history and it`s one after another, after another,
and you realize this isn`t an employable person.
It seems as though all the employable workers are employed.
The job market is booming. But the percentage of Americans working or looking for work is
near a 40-year low.
Economist Alan Krueger noticed a link between the missing workers and opioid use.
If you look at the counties where more medication is being prescribed, we`ve seen a bigger drop
in the
labor force participation rate for both men and for women. An increase in the prescription
rate can account for between 20 percent and 25 percent of
the decline.
Contractor John O`Brien knows the signs.
I have a little list in my head of things I watch for. Person X is really, really good
on certain days, and on other
days it looks like he`s just completely lost. A guy who has a backpack and he`s very protective
of it and he brings it absolutely everywhere we go and
it`s always that big backpack. That`s a really good red flag.
Have you ever hired somebody and then realize quickly, oh, no, I have a substance abuse
issue here that`s not safe.
Unfortunately, all too many times. I`ve had to let people go in literally in every aspect
of the business, from out in the field to
in the back, in the kitchen, in the store. We`ve also dealt with a lot of people that
are going through the recovery process and there are stages and
there are relapses.
And unfortunately, if there`s even the slightest relapse, you can`t take it. We have to let
some people go that you really root for and you want to
make it and you can see the potential, but you also as a business owner, you can`t hold
that person`s hand through the process.
I have to look at it from this standpoint. Is this a person I would put on a $50,000
piece of equipment and turn loose in a
field where they could wreak havoc.
This is a new part of the economic story, the opioid epidemic, a personal tragedy now
holding back the labor market.
We have an epidemic that is killing over 30,000 people a year. That`s going to have macro
economic consequences. And we`re pretty close
to full employment now. If the U.S. is going to see faster growth, it`s going to come about
because we find workers somewhere.
The best source, I think are the workers who are at the labor force trying to figure out
ways to make it possible for them to regain their footing and
return to the labor force.
That`s what Dr. Jenny Michaels does for a living. She is the medical director at the
Brien Center for Addiction Treatment.
We have a lot of ignorance about this disease. A person with addiction has a brain that`s
different than a person who does not have this disease. But we struggle with that, and
we judge people and we also love to punish them. We love to
put them in jail rather than rehabilitating them.
For so many years, it`s almost very American to define yourself by what you do.
Right now, they`re being defined by their addiction. An addiction is one of the most
stigmatizing diseases in the world.
Amy Borden was once one of those missing workers.
Being addicted is like a full time job with overtime.
Yes, it`s every day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That`s the only thought in your
mind. And it`s a job
that you can`t get fired from. I would work a month and then quit, or be fired because
I didn`t show up.
That checkered work history, a red flag for small business owners. At 47, Borden has been
in recovery for nearly 11 years.
She says the gaps in her resume made employers hesitant to hire her.
BORDEN: I filled out numerous applications that I didn`t even get a call. So, a lot of
times, there wasn`t even the opportunity to say this is what
happened. This is why there`s the gaps.
ROMANS: Amy is now by all accounts a success story. Treated at the Brien Center, she now
works here, helping other people through recovery.
When you think of the hurdles to getting to where you are and then to hear from employers
who say, you know, I just -- I`m not ready to
hire somebody in recovery.
I think the judgment and the stigma has to go away. It has to. You have to listen to
the person and just be understanding that it`s a
disease. Without financial stability, most people will relapse because of the stress
of, how do I support my family? So we have to be given the
opportunity.
MICHAELS: It`s not a death sentence. If someone has diabetes that`s not treated, they`re not
going to do well. But if we treat that disease, the
sky is the limit, you know? It`s true for addiction also.
ROMANS (voice-over): Treating the epidemic, imperative for families, communities, and
business.
So you can really see how not being able to get workers can hold back how much you can
grow and how much business you can do.
Absolutely. I can hire two guys, three guys today. And it makes expanding my business
very difficult not having the resources to get
everybody who`s calling. With the business owners, they`re just sick and tired of seeing
the same old, same old. Hearing the same excuses, having
the same problems that in the end really does come down to hurting the wallet.
Ten-second trivia.
Which of these organizations was established in 1945?
The League of Nations, the United Nations, the Red Cross, or the Council of Europe?
It was the United Nations that was established in 1945, though U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt is credited with first using the term in
1942.
According to the World Health Organization, which is part of the United Nations, more
than 2 billion people around the world don`t have
clean drinking water in their homes. That`s about 28 percent of the entire world`s population.
And one threat that can hide in water is lead. It`s a toxic metal the U.S. government says
no amount of it is safe, but there are some people working
on ways to help others avoid it.
My name is Gitanjali Rao. I am 12 years old. I`m in seventh grade and I go to STEM School
Highlands Ridge.
So I developed a device to detect lead in water fashioned in current techniques out
there today. It uses nanotube-based sensor in order to give
you instantaneous results on your smart phone of safe, slightly contaminated or critical
of the lead status in your water.
I was originally introduced to the Flint water crisis through a STEM lab. And it was just
appalling to see the number of people who were affected by
lead in water.
I partnered with Denver Water and I am working on performing my tests and doing research
there. So, at this point, I am working on redesigning the
device structure, refining my sensors, adding various tables and charts for more accurate
values.
I want to see this in the market so that every -- it`s in everyone`s hands in the next year.
It`s common for guests to fly in for a news interview. But well, what I love about this
is how the anchor reacts. Michelle Media just
settles in and rolls with it. The bird, a scarlet ibis, wasn`t exactly an intruder.
It was there for an upcoming segment on the San Diego Zoo. It
just couldn`t wait for it live shot.
Medina said it was a good thing she had a lot of hair spray and that as a working mom,
it felt nice to get a little scalp massage.
So, next time someone says broadcasting for the birds -- maybe the animal was thinking
ibis I could get more airtime. Maybe it was hoping to plant
the seed for a career on birdcasting. Oftentimes on the air, you just got to wing it, though
you know that viewers could tweet about it later.
I`m Carl Azuz and we`ll be beck tomorrow on CNN 10.
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