I recently read a comment from a regional business development person, who stated that in industrialized northern Ohio, there are currently six thousand highly paid positions unfilled in the areas I just mentioned, due to a lack of applicants who took the initiative to get the training, and can pass a drug test.
Slightly off topic question . . . why is passing a drug test even a thing related to working?
If someone is intoxicated at work, fire 'em. Sure, no problems with that. If they want to use drugs on the weekend, why is that any of the employers business?
Because employers are the only ones upholding our high moral standards in America. Without the diligent monitoring, we would devolve into a society of good-for-nothing IV drug users.
Like, I could see drug testing for a job where drug usage is a public risk (maybe a bus driver or something) . . . but for office workers, or CNC operators? WTF? America is a weird place.
Actually, quite the opposite. My son is a safety director involved in the fracking industry. There are times when he will lose over 50% of job applicants due to failed pissed tests. Now this is in areas like WV, and other Appalachian regions where Opioid, and Heroin addiction are an epidemic. So, a couple of points to ponder. First, if you are looking to hire a group of truck drivers and 60% of applicants fail a initial drug screen, it's telling for a few reasons. How many potential applicants didn't even bother to show up for the initial interview, since they knew they couldn't pass a drug test? Why are their guys with CDLs showing up, since a failed test can result in losing your license? Why would you think it a good idea to have anybody in the workplace that's a meth, opioid, or heroin addict? Want to guess how many accidents in high risk occupations like drilling resulting in fatalities, severe career ending injuries, and/or severe environmental damage are the result of employees that fail the mandatory and immediate drug screening following the incident?
Doesn't matter if you are managing a manufacturing plant or a construction site, your first order of business after an event is to drug test the employees involved. At that point, some pretty crazy shit can happen, from workers who will sign resignation letters, and lose everything instead of getting drug tested, drivers who throw away a CDL career since their license got pulled for refusing a post accident test, an employee that swallowed a bottle of Niacin to contaminate the results, and employee that faked an injury on the ride to the testing facility, ended up in the ER, and slipped out a back door to avoid a test, and a hundred other games. The states have a massive drug problem, and claiming that it's irrational and unfair to test, and refuse to employ drug users is a bit weird.
If you are going to be a stoner, or addict, it's your call. If you think that 99% of corporate America is going to tolerate you being compromised while on the job, in any environment where you could cause harm to yourself or others, sorry but it doesn't work that way. Not to mention the obvious, which would be that stoners and junkies are not exactly employee of the month material, in most cases.