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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated costs have develop into the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing provide chain issues, including a lack of truck drivers to transport goods from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the growing old 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 business licenses. Nonetheless, that won’t impact another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. which can be contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which might quickly worsen the already struggling supply chain.

As extra states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so previously 12 months and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—extra truck drivers have examined positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial automobile drivers have examined positive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase yr over yr.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal functions. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD while off obligation in a state where those substances are legal, they may still be confronted with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal level.

“While states could allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy do not acknowledge any respectable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the identical as using every other illicit drug.”

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

Underneath laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to beginning a brand new job. They may 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 number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there are now new saliva tests being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug check, that can be grounds for termination under DOT laws. 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 may generally take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to list commercial drivers who fail a drug check in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are additionally required to verify the Clearinghouse to see if a business driver had any previous violations, which would stop them from being employed.

In recent years, extra states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly obtainable and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. Based on the FMCSA, “a driver may 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 as it’s turn into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions additionally has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A business driver might use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, but nonetheless take a look at constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Habit Facilities says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two instances a week—it may well show up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana several occasions every week can take a look at optimistic for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more steadily can “test positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply among the present points affecting the supply chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White Home, however a rising variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial automobile drivers should undergo as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can preserve them from returning to work at all. In accordance with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 commercial drivers are presently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed at the current rate, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the availability chain, which implies higher prices not only for commodities but the price of living at large.

Copyright 2022 Stacker by way of Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.