As the United States economy struggles to hold onto its comparatively low unemployment rate of 4.4%, many companies are also struggling to find applicants who can pass routine drug tests during the interview process. A recent article in The New York Times shines a light on the consequences of more widespread drug use within the labor force. The combination of many states decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, or allowing more widespread access to medical marijuana, along with the ongoing opioid epidemic has put a lot of strain on employers who require clean drug test results from their applicants.

While this particular article focuses primarily on factories and mills in the Midwest, it is apparent that these issues are emblematic of a larger conflict that the nation as a whole will have to grapple with in order to maintain a strong workforce.