Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the highway this 12 months, including more supply chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have turn into the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges causing provide chain issues, together with a scarcity of truck drivers to move 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 ageing population 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. Nonetheless, that won’t affect another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. which are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a growing variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which might soon worsen the already suffering supply chain.

As extra states legalize recreational marijuana—four of which did so in the past yr and three extra are anticipated to by the top of 2022—extra 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 same 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 allow it for medicinal purposes. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off obligation in a state where these substances are legal, they may nonetheless be faced with a violation because of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal stage.

“Whereas states may enable medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not acknowledge any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business car drivers reads. “Even if a state permits using marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the same as the usage of any other illicit drug.”

Stacker looked at what’s causing 1000's of truckers to be removed from their jobs, and the looming domino effect of the continued supply chain disruptions.

Below rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—including marijuana—prior to starting a brand new job. They can also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Security Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, however there are now new saliva tests being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that can be grounds for termination below DOT regulations. At best, they are briefly taken off the road and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation course of, which may sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are also required to list commercial drivers who fail a drug take a look at 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 commercial driver had any earlier violations, which might prevent them from being employed.

In recent times, extra states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it extra extensively out there and used. However, marijuana use is still prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver might not use marijuana even if [it] is really useful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s develop into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions additionally has not modified the application of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A business driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, but still check constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana users—meaning those who use the substance less than two instances every week—it may present up of their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several times a week can check positive for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more incessantly can “check optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply a few of the present issues affecting the supply chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in accordance with a report from the White House, but a rising number of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that commercial automobile drivers should endure as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can maintain them from returning to work at all. In keeping with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 commercial drivers are at present in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations proceed at the current rate, the truck driver shortage will additional disrupt the provision chain, which suggests greater prices not just for commodities however the cost of living at massive.

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