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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated prices have develop into the norm for American customers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting supply chain points, including a lack of truck drivers to transport items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force scarcity had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly due to the getting old 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 economic licenses. Nevertheless, that received’t impact another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. which are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a growing number of truckers are being taken off the job, which may soon worsen the already struggling provide chain.

As extra states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so up to now year and three more are anticipated to by the tip of 2022—more truck drivers have tested positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle 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 year.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state rules as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal functions. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they could nonetheless be faced with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal degree.

“While states could permit medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the same 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—including marijuana—previous to beginning a brand new job. They can be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the common number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there are now new saliva exams being proposed as properly.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug check, that may be grounds for termination below DOT rules. At greatest, they're temporarily taken off the street and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to record industrial drivers who fail a drug take a look at within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for five years. Potential employers are also required to check the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any previous violations, which would stop them from being hired.

In recent times, more states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it extra extensively accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In accordance with the FMCSA, “a driver might 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 because it’s develop into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions additionally has not modified the appliance 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, however still take a look at positive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Dependancy Centers says for infrequent marijuana users—which means those who use the substance less than two times a week—it might show up of their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who uses marijuana several occasions a week can test optimistic for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more ceaselessly can “take a look at optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are just among the current issues affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., in keeping with a report from the White Home, but a rising number of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial car drivers should bear as soon as faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. In line with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 business drivers are at the moment 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 charge, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which implies increased costs not just for commodities but the price of living at giant.

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