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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have become the norm for American customers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges causing supply chain points, together with an absence of truck drivers to transport goods from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of getting old 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 impact one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. that are contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing number of truckers are being taken off the job, which might soon 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 anticipated to by the top of 2022—more truck drivers have tested optimistic for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial vehicle 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 yr.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal functions. However even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off obligation in a state the place these substances are authorized, they could still be confronted with a violation because of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal degree.

“While states could allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy do not recognize any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even if a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT laws deal with its use as the same as the usage of any other illicit drug.”

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

Under rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to beginning a new job. They can also be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Security Administration also 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, however there are actually new saliva tests being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug test, that can be grounds for termination beneath DOT regulations. At finest, they're briefly taken off the highway and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to listing commercial drivers who fail a drug test in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are additionally required to check the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any earlier violations, which might stop them from being hired.

In recent times, extra states have legalized each leisure and medical marijuana, making it more widely accessible and used. However, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is beneficial by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s turn into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions additionally has not modified the applying of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is authorized, but still check positive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two occasions every week—it might probably show up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several times per week can test optimistic for up to three weeks, and people who use marijuana even more frequently can “take a look at positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and items waiting to be unloaded at ports are just among the current issues affecting the availability chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise throughout the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White House, but a growing variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that commercial car drivers should endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work at all. In response to the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 business drivers are at present in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations proceed at the present charge, the truck driver scarcity will additional disrupt the supply chain, which suggests increased costs not only for commodities however the price of residing at giant.

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