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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated prices have turn out to be the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing provide chain issues, including an absence of truck drivers to transport items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the aging population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the highway by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. However, that received’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. that are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a growing number of truckers are being taken off the job, which could quickly worsen the already suffering supply chain.

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

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD whereas off obligation in a state the place those substances are authorized, they could nonetheless be faced with a violation as a result of Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal level.

“Whereas states might allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage don't recognize any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial automobile drivers reads. “Even if a state allows using marijuana, DOT rules deal with its use as the identical as the usage of every 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 provide chain disruptions.

Underneath laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They can be tested at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety 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 by way of urinalysis, but there are actually new saliva checks being proposed as properly.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug check, that can be grounds for termination underneath DOT rules. At greatest, they are briefly taken off the street and required to finish an evaluation with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation process, which may generally take months.

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

In recent years, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for business truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver might not use marijuana even when [it] is really useful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s grow to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A commercial driver might 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 as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Habit Centers says for infrequent marijuana users—meaning those who use the substance lower than two instances a week—it might probably show up of their urine for up to three days. Somebody who uses marijuana a number of instances per week can test optimistic for as much as three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more continuously can “test constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply among the present issues affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., in keeping with a report from the White House, but a growing variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial automobile drivers should endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can keep them from returning to work at all. Based on the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at present in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD process. 

If violations continue at the present rate, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which suggests higher prices not just for commodities but the cost of living at large.

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