Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the road this yr, including more provide chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer shelves, and inflated prices have turn into the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting supply chain issues, including a scarcity of truck drivers to move items 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 due to the growing 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 gained’t have an effect on another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. that are contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which may soon worsen the already struggling supply chain.

As more states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so up to now year and three extra are anticipated to by the top of 2022—extra truck drivers have tested positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 industrial vehicle 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 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 purposes. However even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they might nonetheless be confronted with a violation because of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal degree.

“While states might permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not acknowledge any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits the use of marijuana, DOT laws deal with its use as the same as the usage of any other illicit drug.”

Stacker checked out what’s inflicting thousands of truckers to be faraway 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—including marijuana—prior to beginning a new job. They can be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security Administration additionally upped the random drug testing price from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, however there are now new saliva assessments being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug check, that can be grounds for termination beneath DOT regulations. At best, they're briefly taken off the street and required to complete an evaluation with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which might generally take months.

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

In recent years, extra states have legalized each leisure and medical marijuana, making it more widely obtainable and used. However, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for business truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In response to the FMCSA, “a driver could 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 because it’s become legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions additionally has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A business driver may use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, but nonetheless take a look at constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the road. The American Addiction Centers says for infrequent marijuana users—meaning those that use the substance less than two occasions a week—it could present up of their urine for as much as three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana several instances a week can test optimistic for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more regularly can “take a look at constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are just a number of the present points affecting the supply chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., based on a report from the White House, but a rising variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

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

If violations proceed on the present fee, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the supply chain, which means increased prices not just for commodities however the cost of residing at giant.

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