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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store shelves, and inflated prices have change into the norm for American consumers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting provide chain points, together with an absence of truck drivers to move goods from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the getting older population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the street by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. Nonetheless, that gained’t impact another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout 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 may quickly worsen the already struggling supply chain.

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

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state rules as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. But even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off responsibility in a state where those substances are legal, they may still be faced with a violation as a result of Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal degree.

“While states could enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial automobile drivers reads. “Even if a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the same as using some other illicit drug.”

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

Beneath regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—prior to starting a new job. They can also be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration additionally upped the random drug testing price from 25% of the common number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use via urinalysis, but there are actually new saliva assessments being proposed as nicely.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug take a look at, that can be grounds for termination under DOT rules. At finest, they're quickly taken off the street and required to complete an evaluation with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation course of, which can typically take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to list business drivers who fail a drug check within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for five years. Potential employers are also required to verify the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any earlier violations, which might prevent them from being hired.

In recent times, extra states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly available and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is advisable by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s turn out to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A industrial driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, but still take a look at positive 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 could show up in their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who uses marijuana a number of times a week can test optimistic for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more ceaselessly can “check constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply among the present issues affecting the supply chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., in keeping with a report from the White Home, but a rising variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that commercial automobile drivers should undergo once confronted with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. In accordance with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at present in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations proceed at the present fee, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the supply chain, which implies increased prices not just for commodities but the cost of dwelling at giant.

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