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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated prices have turn out to be the norm for American consumers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing supply chain issues, including a scarcity of truck drivers to transport 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 ageing inhabitants 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 economic licenses. Nonetheless, that gained’t impact one other hurdle: disparate marijuana laws across the U.S. that are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a growing variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which may quickly worsen the already struggling supply chain.

As more states legalize leisure marijuana—4 of which did so in the past yr and three more are expected to by the top of 2022—more truck drivers have examined positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial car drivers have tested optimistic for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase year over year.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state regulations 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 products like CBD while off obligation in a state the place those substances are authorized, they could still be faced with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal degree.

“While states may allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage do not recognize any authentic medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits the use of 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 regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They will also be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Security Administration additionally upped the random drug testing price from 25% of the average variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use through urinalysis, however there are actually new saliva tests being proposed as properly.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug take a look at, that may be grounds for termination underneath DOT rules. At best, they are temporarily taken off the road and required to complete an evaluation with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which can sometimes 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 stay searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are also required to test the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any earlier violations, which might stop them from being employed.

In recent times, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly out there and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is really useful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s develop into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the application 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, but nonetheless test optimistic for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two times a week—it may well present up in their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several times per week can check optimistic for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana even more regularly can “take a look at optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply some of the current issues affecting the supply chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., in keeping with a report from the White Home, but a rising number of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial car drivers should bear as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work in any respect. Based on the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 commercial 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 on the present price, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which implies larger prices not just for commodities however the price of residing at large.

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