Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the street this yr, including more supply chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store shelves, and inflated costs have grow to be the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting provide chain issues, together with an absence of truck drivers to transport items from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of ageing 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 business licenses. Nevertheless, that won’t have an effect on another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. which are contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which might quickly worsen the already suffering supply chain.

As extra states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so in the past year and three more are expected to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle drivers have tested constructive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase 12 months over year.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place these substances are authorized, they may nonetheless be faced with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal degree.

“While states might allow medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not acknowledge any legit medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial car drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the usage of marijuana, DOT rules deal with its use as the identical as the usage of every other illicit drug.”

Stacker looked at what’s causing hundreds of truckers to be removed from their jobs, and the looming domino impact of the continued provide chain disruptions.

Beneath laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to beginning a brand new job. They will 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 average number 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 nicely.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug take a look at, that can be grounds for termination below DOT laws. At finest, they're quickly taken off the road and required to complete an evaluation with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation course of, which might sometimes take months.

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

In recent years, extra states have legalized each leisure and medical marijuana, making it extra extensively obtainable and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. In accordance with the FMCSA, “a driver might 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 as it’s turn out 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 rules.”

A commercial driver might use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, however nonetheless test positive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the street. The American Habit Centers says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two instances per week—it can show up of their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who uses marijuana several times per week can check constructive for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana even more regularly can “take a look at constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply a number of the present points affecting the availability chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products throughout the U.S., in response to a report from the White House, but a growing variety of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that business vehicle drivers should bear once confronted with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work at all. In line with 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 process. 

If violations proceed at the present fee, the truck driver scarcity will additional disrupt the supply chain, which implies greater prices not only for commodities however the price of residing at large.

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