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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated prices have develop into the norm for American customers over the past two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges causing provide chain points, 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 driver scarcity had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly because of the getting older inhabitants and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. Nevertheless, that won’t affect another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. that are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which might soon worsen the already suffering provide chain.

As more states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so previously 12 months and three extra are anticipated to by the tip of 2022—extra truck drivers have examined positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 industrial 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 year over 12 months.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal purposes. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off duty in a state where those substances are authorized, they could nonetheless be confronted with a violation as a result of Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal stage.

“While states could permit medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy do not acknowledge any reputable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT rules treat its use as the identical as using another illicit drug.”

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

Below laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—including marijuana—previous to beginning a brand new job. They may also be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Safety Administration also upped the random drug testing charge from 25% of the common variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use via urinalysis, but there are actually new saliva checks being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that can be grounds for termination underneath DOT laws. At best, they're temporarily taken off the highway and required to finish an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which might generally take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to list commercial 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 test the Clearinghouse to see if a business driver had any previous violations, which might prevent them from being hired.

In recent times, more states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more extensively accessible and used. However, marijuana use is still prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions aside. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver might 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 turn into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions additionally has not modified the applying of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A business driver might use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, however still check optimistic for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the road. The American Addiction Facilities says for infrequent marijuana users—which means those that use the substance less than two instances a week—it may possibly present up in their urine for up to three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several occasions per week can take a look at optimistic for up to three weeks, and people who use marijuana much more incessantly can “check optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply among the present issues affecting the provision chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in keeping with a report from the White Home, however a rising variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial car drivers must undergo as soon as faced 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 present in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue on the present charge, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the availability chain, which suggests greater prices not just for commodities but the cost of living at large.

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