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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery store cabinets, and inflated prices have turn into the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting supply chain points, together with an absence of truck drivers to transport items from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver scarcity had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly because of the 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 business licenses. However, that won’t impact one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. that are 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 suffering supply chain.

As extra states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so in the past 12 months and three more are expected to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business car drivers have tested optimistic for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase year over 12 months.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal functions. But even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off responsibility in a state the place these substances are authorized, they may still be confronted with a violation because of the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal level.

“While states might permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not acknowledge any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business vehicle drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the identical as the usage of some other illicit drug.”

Stacker looked at what’s inflicting hundreds of truckers to be faraway from their jobs, and the looming domino impact of the continued provide chain disruptions.

Beneath rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—including marijuana—previous to beginning a new job. They can also be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration additionally 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 through urinalysis, but there at the moment are new saliva exams being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug test, that can be grounds for termination under 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 generally take months.

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

In recent years, more states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it more widely available and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. According to the FMCSA, “a driver could 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 because it’s become legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and different jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, however still take a look at optimistic for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the highway. The American Dependancy Facilities says for infrequent marijuana users—which means those that use the substance lower than two occasions a week—it might probably present up of their urine for up to three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several instances a week can test optimistic for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more ceaselessly can “take a look at constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply a few of the present issues affecting the supply chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of products inside the U.S., according to a report from the White House, but a rising number of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial vehicle drivers should undergo once faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work in any respect. In accordance with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 business drivers are at present in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD process. 

If violations continue at the current price, the truck driver shortage will additional disrupt the availability chain, which suggests greater prices not only for commodities however the price of living at giant.

Copyright 2022 Stacker through Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.