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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated costs have change into the norm for American customers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing supply chain points, together with a scarcity of truck drivers to move items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the getting old inhabitants 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 won’t impact one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. which are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising number of truckers are being taken off the job, which may quickly worsen the already suffering provide chain.

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

Truck drivers who travel 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 while off duty in a state where those substances are legal, they could still be faced with a violation due to the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal level.

“Whereas states may permit medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage don't acknowledge any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the identical as the use of any other illicit drug.”

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

Underneath regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to beginning a brand new job. They can be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Security Administration additionally upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the common variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva exams being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug check, that can be grounds for termination below DOT laws. At best, 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 may generally take months.

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

In recent times, more states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it more broadly obtainable and used. However, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. According to the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even if [it] is recommended by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s grow to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the applying of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A business driver may use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, but still check positive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Dependancy Centers says for rare marijuana customers—meaning those who use the substance less than two occasions a week—it might present up in their urine for up to three days. Somebody who uses marijuana several instances per week can take a look at positive for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more incessantly can “take a look at positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are just a few of the present issues affecting the supply chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., according to a report from the White Home, however a growing variety of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that commercial vehicle drivers should endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. Based on the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are currently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed on the present rate, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which suggests increased prices not just for commodities however the price of residing at large.

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