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CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz wrapping up the week
here on "CNN 10."
Thank you for stopping by.
For years, the United States has been wrestling
with the problem of drug abuse.
In 2016, we reported that prescription-drug and heroin
abuse was exploding in America.
In early 2018, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta
noted that someone died from an accidental overdose
every 19 minutes.
By the end of that year, CNN reported these deaths occurred
every eight minutes, and now they're
happening every five minutes.
For the first time ever over a 12-month period,
the US recorded more than 100,000
deaths from a drug overdose.
That took place from last spring to this spring.
Health officials say the spike in overdose deaths started
during the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic,
and they blame that pandemic for playing a role in this.
In most of the drug deaths, almost 2/3 of them,
opioids/synthetic painkillers were a factor.
SANJAY GUPTA: This has been an issue long before the pandemic,
but it is clear that the problem has never been worse,
and I want to break it down a little bit for you.
First of all, the numbers that you see on the screen
reflect a one-year period.
As you mentioned, between April of 2020 and April of 2021,
right in the middle of this pandemic,
more than 100,000 people have died of drug overdoses.
And to give you an idea, that's a significant increase
compared to the year before.
But I think it's also worth just digging a little bit deeper
and understanding the problem.
Most of this is from opioids, and most of this
is specifically from a type of opioid known as fentanyl.
ANNE MILGRAM: This year alone, DEA
has seized enough fentanyl to provide every member
of the United States population with a lethal dose,
and we are still seizing more fentanyl each and every day.
CARL AZUZ: So what exactly is fentanyl?
This is an incredibly potent synthetic drug.
It's said to be 50 to 100 times stronger
than other painkillers.
It was developed to help treat cancer patients in severe pain,
but it's also been used to cut or be blended
with other illegal drugs.
Because illicit pills that contain fentanyl
are often made to look like prescription pills,
some of the people who abuse them don't even know they're
taking fentanyl, and it's so potent that it's
causing overdoses and deaths.
Who's abusing it?
Millions.
Before the pandemic hit, CNN estimated that more than 10
million Americans ages 12 and older
had misused opioids in 2019.
We can assume from the new statistics
that that's increased over the past year,
and the majority of this abuse was
of prescription painkillers.
So people getting these pills illegally
are in greater danger of getting fentanyl-laced drugs.
Where are they coming from?
The US Drug Enforcement Administration
says most of the illegal fentanyl
is manufactured in Mexico, and then it's smuggled into the US.
Some of it has also come from India and China.
Over the years, several presidents
have faced this problem.
In 2016, the Obama administration
set aside $1 billion to address the drug epidemic, which
included heroin and opioids.
In 2018, the Trump administration
dedicated $6 billion to the fight against opioids.
And this year, the Biden administration
has put $4 billion toward combating overdose deaths.
10-second trivia-- what event made Olympics history in 1968?
The first Special Olympics, the first united Korean team,
the African nations' boycott, or volleyball's Olympic debut/ In
1968, the first Special Olympics was held at Soldier
Field in Chicago, Illinois.
About a thousand athletes took part in those games,
according to "Encyclopedia Britannica."
They were all from the US and Canada,
and now the Special Olympics organization
says 5 and 1/2 million athletes from more than 190 countries
participate in Special Olympics programs.
The organization has always encouraged people
with intellectual disabilities to participate in sports,
but its mission goes beyond that.
The Special Olympics also aims to overcome the discrimination
this group has faced.
Worldwide, it has more than a million coaches and volunteers.
It has support from businesses, governments, and individuals,
and that includes the world record holder for fastest 100
meter and 200 meter sprints.
CNN's Becky Anderson got to meet, interview,
and even train with Usain Bolt.
BECKY ANDERSON: He was once the fastest man in the world.
Usain Bolt won eight Olympic gold medals
before retiring in 2017, but that hasn't stopped
the legendary Jamaican sprinter from inspiring
fans around the world.
And now he's raising awareness for athletes
with special needs.
What do you hope your legacy as the world's
fastest man will be for athletes with special needs and others?
USAIN BOLT: For me, it's just all about show determination.
You know what I mean?
And for me, it's to see them go out
and work as hard as they do, it also inspires me.
You know what I mean?
To know that they have a disability
but they never give up.
They want to be great athletes also.
Are you going to join me in Dubai?
BECKY ANDERSON: Bolt recently invited Emirati sprinter Hamda
Al Hosani to run with him in a charity
race at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Hamda has more than 15 Special Olympics medals to her name.
USAIN BOLT: When I met Hamda, she was very nervous.
But for me, it was a big deal to see somebody who overcomes
and push themselves to be one of the best in the world.
BECKY ANDERSON: Hamda, what does Usain Bolt mean to you?
HAMDA AL HOSANI: [speaking arabic]
INTERPRETER: Usain Bolt is my favorite hero because he's
the source of my inspiration.
Watching him as he broke the records in the 100, 200
meter, and others pushed me to achieve
more in my sports career.
USAIN BOLT: And for me, it's just
to leave a legacy to prove to people
that anything is possible.
Don't take limits.
It's all about just hard work and determination.
BECKY ANDERSON: I'll tell you what,
you're going to give me a couple of ideas about what I might
do to get myself into shape--
USAIN BOLT: OK.
[laughs]
BECKY ANDERSON: --to be an Olympic athlete.
Is that all right?
USAIN BOLT: First, stretching is very important.
BECKY ANDERSON: Yeah.
USAIN BOLT: You know what I mean?
You don't want to pull anything.
Trust me, pulling a muscle, it's no joke.
BECKY ANDERSON: I can't even stand on one leg.
That's it.
[laughter]
USAIN BOLT: Next thing you do, you do some drills.
You know what I mean?
BECKY ANDERSON: Yeah.
USAIN BOLT: Some skipping drills, like you--
like some skipping drills.
Yeah.
BECKY ANDERSON: Here we go.
USAIN BOLT: Just a warmup.
Then after you feel a little bit warm,
then you can do some light sprinting.
BECKY ANDERSON: Yeah? Oh yeah.
A little bit of light sprinting.
You fancy it?
[laughs]
USAIN BOLT: I mean, you, like, go.
BECKY ANDERSON: You know I've clearly been training, right?
USAIN BOLT: And it's pop.
Yeah, you sprint out.
Yeah.
[laughter]
BECKY ANDERSON: Usain Bolt's inspiring and connecting
athletes on and off the track.
All we need, really, to end this is a big old give it.
[laughs] Thank you.
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CARL AZUZ: A researcher at Scotland's University
of Glasgow says animals can be active users of technology,
but do they want to be?
What she did was stick a special kind of phone into a dog toy.
Then she tracked how many times her 10-year-old Labrador, Zach,
would call her.
Zach called a lot, between five and nine times a day,
but what's not known is if he really wanted to talk
or if he just triggered the call by accident because he
wanted to play with his toy.
Still, if this idea takes off, researchers
hope it'll be used to help the pandemic puppies
that are left alone if their owners
have to go back to the office.
Of course, they'd need a paw set instead of a handset.
They'll always be barking into the line.
Translation apps for dogs are still pretty "ruff,"
and not all of them will think a phone call is a real treat.
But hey, at least Zach was the perfect subject.
He knew how to work the Labrador receiver.
Hey, Fridays are "paw-some."
It's time for us to scoot, but before we do,
we want to recognize the students
of Redmond High School.
Thank you for watching from Redmond, Oregon.
We will be back on the air next Monday and Tuesday
before we're off for the Thanksgiving break,
so have a great weekend.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.
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