Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the highway this year, including extra supply chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated prices have become the norm for American consumers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing supply chain issues, including a scarcity of truck drivers to transport items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of ageing population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the highway by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. Nevertheless, that received’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. which might be contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which could soon worsen the already suffering provide chain.

As more states legalize leisure marijuana—4 of which did so prior to now 12 months and three more are anticipated to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have examined positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial car drivers have tested positive for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% enhance 12 months over year.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal functions. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD while off duty in a state the place these substances are legal, they could nonetheless be faced with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal stage.

“Whereas states could allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT laws deal with its use as the same as using another illicit drug.”

Stacker checked out what’s inflicting thousands of truckers to be removed from their jobs, and the looming domino effect of the continued provide chain disruptions.

Underneath rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—including marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They can be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Security Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there are now new saliva checks being proposed as properly.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug test, that can be grounds for termination beneath DOT rules. At greatest, they're briefly taken off the road and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which may typically take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to checklist commercial drivers who fail a drug take a look at within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are also required to examine the Clearinghouse to see if a industrial driver had any earlier violations, which might prevent them from being employed.

Lately, extra states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it more broadly out there and used. However, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions aside. In accordance with the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is really useful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s change into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, however still take a look at constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Habit Centers says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two occasions every week—it might probably show up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several occasions every week can take a look at constructive for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more often can “test optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are just a few of the current points affecting the supply chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products inside the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White House, however a rising variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial car drivers should undergo once faced with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work in any respect. In response to the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at present in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue on the present rate, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the availability chain, which implies increased costs not just for commodities however the price of living at large.

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