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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store shelves, and inflated costs have become the norm for American consumers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting supply chain issues, together with a lack of truck drivers to transport items from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the growing old 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. Nonetheless, that received’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout 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 previously year and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—extra truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 industrial 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% enhance 12 months over 12 months.

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. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place these substances are authorized, they may nonetheless be confronted with a violation due to the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal stage.

“While states might enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any legit medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business automobile drivers reads. “Even if a state permits using marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the same as using any other illicit drug.”

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

Below regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to beginning a new job. They may also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Security Administration also upped the random drug testing price 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 are actually new saliva exams being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that can be grounds for termination under DOT regulations. At greatest, they are temporarily taken off the highway and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to listing commercial drivers who fail a drug take a look at in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for five years. Potential employers are additionally required to test the Clearinghouse to see if a business driver had any previous violations, which would forestall them from being hired.

In recent times, extra states have legalized each leisure and medical marijuana, making it extra broadly available and used. However, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for business truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. Based on the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even when [it] is really helpful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s change into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the applying of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is authorized, but nonetheless take a look at constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Habit Facilities says for infrequent marijuana users—meaning those who use the substance lower than two occasions every week—it will possibly present up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana several instances per week can check positive for as much as three weeks, and people who use marijuana much more steadily can “take a look at constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply a number of the current issues affecting the provision chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., in line with a report from the White Home, but a growing variety of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

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

If violations continue at the present rate, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the provision chain, which suggests increased prices not just for commodities but the price of residing at large.

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