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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer shelves, and inflated prices have change into 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 scarcity of truck drivers to move goods from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force shortage had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly because of the getting old population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the street by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. Nevertheless, that received’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 variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which might quickly worsen the already suffering supply chain.

As more states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so in the past yr and three extra are expected to by the top of 2022—more truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle 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 12 months over year.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state rules as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal purposes. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they may still be faced with a violation due to the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal stage.

“Whereas states may permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and coverage do not recognize any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the use of marijuana, DOT rules deal with its use as the same as the use of some other illicit drug.”

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

Under regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to beginning a brand new job. They will also be tested at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security 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 by way of urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva checks being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug check, that can be grounds for termination below DOT laws. At finest, they're briefly 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 record business drivers who fail a drug check in 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 previous violations, which would forestall them from being hired.

In recent times, more states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it extra widely out there and used. However, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions aside. Based on the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even when [it] is advisable 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 additionally has not modified the applying of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, however nonetheless check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana customers—which means those who use the substance lower than two times per week—it could possibly present up in their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several occasions a week can take a look at constructive for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more steadily can “take a look at optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are just among the current points affecting the supply chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., in line with a report from the White Home, but a growing variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial automobile drivers must endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can keep them from returning to work at all. In keeping with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 commercial drivers are at the moment in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue at the current price, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which implies higher costs not only for commodities however the cost of residing at massive.

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