Man with a drink Along with alcoholism and suicide, opioids are part of the so-called deaths of despair phenomenon that has helped increase white American mortality rates since the turn of the century. (Photo: Getty Images)

America’s opioid crisis is a terrible tragedy in itself. Increasingly, though, the evidence suggests that it’s behind another malaise: the growing ranks of prime-aged males dropping out of the labor force.

The epidemic of opioid and opiate drug abuse contrasts sharply with a broader improvement in Americans’ health. Violent crime, domestic violence and teen pregnancy are all way down. Cancer survival rates are up, and HIV is on the way out. Air and water pollution have decreased.

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