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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have change into the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting supply chain points, together with a scarcity of truck drivers to move goods from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver shortage had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly as a result of aging population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the street by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of economic licenses. However, that gained’t have an effect on another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws across the U.S. which are 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 suffering supply chain.

As more states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so previously 12 months and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—more truck drivers have examined optimistic for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle drivers have examined 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 journey 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 merchandise like CBD while off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they might still be confronted with a violation because of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal degree.

“Whereas states could enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage don't acknowledge any legit medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits using marijuana, DOT rules treat its use as the same as the use of some other illicit drug.”

Stacker checked out what’s causing hundreds of truckers to be faraway from their jobs, and the looming domino effect of the continued provide chain disruptions.

Underneath laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to starting a new job. They may also be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Security Administration also upped the random drug testing fee from 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use via urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva tests being proposed as effectively.

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

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

Lately, extra states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more widely obtainable and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions aside. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even if [it] is advisable by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s become legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the appliance of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A business driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, however nonetheless check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Dependancy Centers says for rare marijuana users—that means those that use the substance lower than two times per week—it may well present up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana a number of instances per week can check constructive for as much as three weeks, and those that use marijuana even more steadily can “test positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are just among the current issues affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in line with a report from the White Home, but a growing number of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial car drivers must endure as soon as faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work in any respect. In line with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 business drivers are presently in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD process. 

If violations continue on the current rate, the truck driver scarcity will additional disrupt the supply chain, which implies increased prices not just for commodities but the cost of living at massive.

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