Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the highway this 12 months, adding more provide chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated prices have change into the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting provide chain points, including a lack of truck drivers to move items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of growing older population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. Nonetheless, that gained’t affect one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. which can be contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a rising number of truckers are being taken off the job, which might soon worsen the already suffering supply chain.

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

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD whereas off duty in a state where those substances are legal, they might nonetheless be confronted with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal stage.

“While states could enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage do not recognize any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial automobile drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the identical as the usage of some other illicit drug.”

Stacker looked at what’s causing 1000's of truckers to be removed from their jobs, and the looming domino effect of the continued supply chain disruptions.

Below regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to starting a brand new job. They can also be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Safety Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva checks being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug check, that may be grounds for termination beneath DOT laws. At finest, they are quickly taken off the highway and required to finish an analysis with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation process, which may typically take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to list industrial 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 additionally required to examine the Clearinghouse to see if a business driver had any previous violations, which would forestall them from being employed.

In recent years, extra states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more extensively accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even when [it] is beneficial by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s turn out to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the appliance of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A industrial driver may use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, but nonetheless check optimistic for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Centers says for infrequent marijuana customers—meaning those that use the substance less than two occasions a week—it will probably show up of their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana a number of times every week can test positive for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more ceaselessly can “test positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are just some of the present points affecting the availability chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., according to a report from the White Home, however a growing number of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that commercial car drivers should undergo as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work at all. In accordance with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at the moment in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed at the current charge, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the availability chain, which implies increased prices not just for commodities however the cost of living at massive.

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