Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the road this year, including extra provide chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store cabinets, and inflated prices have change into the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting provide chain points, including an absence of truck drivers to move goods from one place to a different. 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 growing older population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of business licenses. However, that won’t impact another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across the U.S. which might be contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing number of truckers are being taken off the job, which may quickly worsen the already struggling provide chain.

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

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal functions. But even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD while off responsibility in a state where those substances are legal, they might nonetheless be faced with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal stage.

“While states could permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy don't recognize any respectable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business automobile drivers reads. “Even when a state allows using marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the same as the usage of another illicit drug.”

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

Beneath regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They can be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Safety Administration additionally upped the random drug testing charge from 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva checks being proposed as nicely.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that can be grounds for termination beneath DOT laws. At best, they are quickly taken off the highway and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation process, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to listing industrial drivers who fail a drug take a look at within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain 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 forestall them from being employed.

In recent years, extra states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it more extensively out there and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver might not use marijuana even when [it] is really helpful 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 additionally has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A industrial driver may use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, but nonetheless check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana users—which means those who use the substance lower than two times every week—it may possibly show up of their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who uses marijuana a number of times per week can test positive for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more regularly can “take a look at optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are just a few of the current points affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise throughout the U.S., in response to a report from the White Home, but a rising number of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial automobile drivers must bear once confronted with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work at all. In response to the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are currently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue on the current rate, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the availability chain, which suggests greater prices not just for commodities however the price of residing at large.

Copyright 2022 Stacker via Grey Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.