The U.S. opioid crisis is draining the workforce as drug addiction leads many workers to leave their jobs or prevents others from entering the workforce. Small business owners struggle to find qualified employees due to gaps in work histories and failed drug tests during the hiring process. Researchers estimate that prescription opioid addiction accounts for 20-25% of the recent decline in U.S. labor force participation. The government is committing more funding to treatment to help recover addicts rejoin the workforce and strengthen the economy.

1. U.S. Opioid Crisis Draining [weakening] the Workforce; A Young Scientist`s
Effort to Detect Lead in Drinking Water
Aired February 28, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM
AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: The U.S. government is creating a task force
specifically focused on tackling [dealing with] the nation`s opioid crisis. That and
how the crisis is affecting America`s workforce is our first subject today on CNN
10.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF SESSIONS, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: Our nation is facing the
deadliest drug epidemic in our history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: U.S. Attorney [Procurador] 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 [dedicated; comprometido] 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

2. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
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.
PAUL TAWCZYNSKI, CO-OWNER, TAFT FARMS: We have had ads running in the
paper, ads running online. And I have a stack [pile, large quantity] of applications of
people that I wouldn`t dream of hiring.
ROMANS: A shortage of workers.
P. TAWCZYNSKI: Qualified people are few and far between [rare]. 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.
DAN TAWCZYNSKI, CO-OWNER, TAFT FARMS: It seems as though all the
employable workers are employed.
ROMANS: The job market is booming [flourishing]. 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.
PROFESSOR ALAN KRUEGER, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: 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.
ROMANS: Contractor John O`Brien knows the signs.
JOHN O`BRIEN, CONTRACTOR: 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 [danger sign].
ROMANS (on camera): Have you ever hired somebody and then realize quickly, oh, no,
I have a substance abuse issue here that`s not safe.
P. TAWCZYNSKI: 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

3. 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 [return to bad
habits].
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 [support] 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.
D. TAWCZYNSKI: 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.[cause chaos]
(voice-over): This is a new part of the economic story, the opioid epidemic, a personal
tragedy now holding back [hindering, limiting] the labor market.
KRUEGER: 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 [understand, devise (Spanish: idear)] ways to make it possible for them to
regain [reach again] their footing [position] and return to the labor force.
ROMANS: That`s what Dr. Jenny Michaels does for a living. She is the medical
director at the Brien Center for Addiction Treatment.
DR. JENNY MICHAELS, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, BRIEN CENTER: 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.
ROMANS (on camera): For so many years, it`s almost common for every American to
define yourself by what you do.
MICHAELS: Right now, they`re being defined by their addiction. An addiction is one
of the most stigmatizing diseases in the world.
ROMANS (voice-over): Amy Borden was once one of those missing workers.

4. (on camera): Being addicted is like a full time job with overtime.
AMY BORDEN, FORMER OPIOID ADDICT: 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.
ROMANS (voice-over): That checkered [questionable] 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.
(on camera): When you think of the hurdles [athletics: obstacles] 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.
BORDEN: 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.
(on camera): 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.
O`BRIEN: 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 stories. Hearing the same excuses, having the same problems that in the end
really does come down to hurting the wallet.

5. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GITANJALI RAO, INVENTOR: 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 [joined] 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.

6. I want to see this in the market so that every -- it`s in everyone`s hands in the next
year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: 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.
END

7. I want to see this in the market so that every -- it`s in everyone`s hands in the next
year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: 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.
END