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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store cabinets, and inflated prices have turn out to be the norm for American customers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting provide chain points, together with a lack of truck drivers to move items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of getting older population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the highway by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. Nonetheless, that received’t affect one other hurdle: disparate marijuana laws across the U.S. which are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which could quickly worsen the already struggling supply chain.

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

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

“Whereas states could allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits using marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the identical as the use of some other illicit drug.”

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

Under rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—previous to beginning a brand new job. They can also be tested at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Security 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 through urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva assessments being proposed as effectively.

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

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to listing business drivers who fail a drug check in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain searchable for five years. Potential employers are additionally required to verify the Clearinghouse to see if a business driver had any earlier violations, which would prevent them from being hired.

In recent years, more states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In response to 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 because it’s turn out to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the appliance of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A business driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, however still take a look at optimistic for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Dependancy Facilities says for rare marijuana users—which means those that use the substance lower than two instances every week—it could show up of their urine for up to three days. Somebody who uses marijuana a number of instances every week can check optimistic for up to three weeks, and people who use marijuana much more ceaselessly can “test constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and items waiting to be unloaded at ports are just a few of the current issues affecting the availability chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products inside the U.S., in response to a report from the White House, but a rising variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial car drivers must endure as soon as faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work in any respect. In accordance with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at present in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue at the current rate, the truck driver scarcity will additional disrupt the provision chain, which implies higher prices not just for commodities but the cost of living at massive.

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