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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store shelves, and inflated prices have turn into the norm for American consumers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting provide chain points, including 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 scarcity had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly as a result of growing older population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. Nevertheless, that won’t affect one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. that are contributing to a rise 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 more states legalize recreational marijuana—4 of which did so prior to now 12 months and three extra are anticipated to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have tested positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business car drivers have examined positive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% improve 12 months over yr.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state rules as 19 states have legalized leisure 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 these substances are legal, they may still be faced with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal stage.

“While states might permit medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage do not acknowledge any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT laws deal with its use as the identical as the use of every other illicit drug.”

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

Below regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—prior to starting 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 charge from 25% of the common variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, however there are now new saliva tests being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug take a look at, that may be grounds for termination underneath DOT rules. At finest, they're briefly taken off the street and required to finish an evaluation with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which may typically take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to record industrial drivers who fail a drug test in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are also required to test the Clearinghouse to see if a industrial driver had any earlier violations, which might forestall them from being hired.

In recent years, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more extensively accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. In response to the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even if [it] is recommended 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 appliance of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A business driver might use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is authorized, but still check constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana users—meaning those that use the substance less than two instances a week—it could show up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana a number of occasions per week can test positive for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more often can “check optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply some of the present points affecting the provision chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of products throughout the U.S., according to a report from the White Home, however a growing variety of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that business car drivers must undergo as soon as confronted with a marijuana violation can keep them from returning to work at all. In accordance with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 industrial drivers are presently 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 fee, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the supply chain, which suggests higher costs not only for commodities but the price of living at giant.

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