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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have become the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing supply chain points, together with an absence 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 high of 80,000, partly due to the growing older inhabitants and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the street by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. Nevertheless, that gained’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. that 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 struggling provide chain.

As more states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so in the past yr and three extra are anticipated to by the top of 2022—more truck drivers have tested positive 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 year 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. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they could still be confronted with a violation as a result of Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal level.

“While states may permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and coverage do not acknowledge any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial automobile drivers reads. “Even if a state allows the usage of marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the identical as using another illicit drug.”

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

Below rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to beginning a new job. They can also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Safety Administration additionally upped the random drug testing price from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use through urinalysis, but there are now new saliva tests being proposed as well.

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

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

In recent years, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it extra broadly available and used. However, marijuana use is still prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. Based on 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 become 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 rules.”

A business 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 up to a month later and be taken off the road. The American Dependancy Centers says for rare marijuana users—meaning those that use the substance less than two times a week—it may well present up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several instances every week can test optimistic for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more continuously can “take a look at constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are just a number of the current points affecting the provision chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White Home, however a rising variety of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that business vehicle drivers should bear as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. In keeping with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 commercial drivers are currently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue at the current fee, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the supply chain, which means larger costs not only for commodities however the cost of living at large.

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