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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have change into the norm for American customers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting supply chain issues, including 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 high of 80,000, partly because of the ageing inhabitants and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. Nonetheless, that received’t have an effect on another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. which can be contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which could quickly worsen the already struggling provide chain.

As extra states legalize recreational marijuana—four of which did so in the past yr and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—more truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 industrial car drivers have tested constructive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% improve year over year.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal functions. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD while off responsibility in a state the place these substances are legal, they could nonetheless be confronted with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal level.

“While states could enable medical use of marijuana, federal laws and coverage don't recognize any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the identical as the use of some other illicit drug.”

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

Beneath regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They will also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security Administration also upped the random drug testing charge from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use via urinalysis, but there are actually new saliva checks being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug check, that may be grounds for termination below DOT regulations. At greatest, they are briefly taken off the road and required to finish an evaluation with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to record business 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 examine the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any previous violations, which might prevent them from being employed.

In recent years, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly accessible and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even when [it] is really useful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s develop into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the appliance of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A business driver might use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, however still check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Dependancy Facilities says for rare marijuana customers—meaning those that use the substance lower than two occasions per week—it will probably present up in their urine for as much as three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana a number of times a week can test positive for as much as three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more steadily can “test optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are simply a few of the current points affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White House, but a rising number of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

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

If violations proceed on the present price, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the availability chain, which means higher costs not just for commodities however the price of dwelling at massive.

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