Marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the road this year, adding more supply chain disruptions

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, bare grocery retailer shelves, and inflated prices have become the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting provide chain points, including a scarcity of truck drivers to transport items from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly because of the ageing 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. Nonetheless, that gained’t impact another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws throughout the U.S. that are contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising number of truckers are being taken off the job, which may quickly worsen the already suffering supply chain.

As more states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so up to now 12 months and three extra are expected to by the top of 2022—extra truck drivers have examined positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle drivers have tested 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 yr.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state rules as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. However even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based merchandise like CBD whereas off obligation in a state the place those substances are authorized, they could nonetheless be confronted with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal level.

“While states might allow medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy don't acknowledge any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT laws treat its use as the same as using any other illicit drug.”

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

Under regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—previous to starting a new job. They will also be examined at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security Administration additionally upped the random drug testing price from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use via urinalysis, however there are actually new saliva exams being proposed as effectively.

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

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to checklist commercial drivers who fail a drug check 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 industrial driver had any previous violations, which would stop them from being employed.

In recent times, extra states have legalized each leisure and medical marijuana, making it more extensively out there and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for industrial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions aside. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even when [it] is recommended 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 application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A industrial driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is authorized, but still check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the road. The American Dependancy Facilities says for infrequent marijuana customers—meaning those that use the substance lower than two occasions a week—it might present up in their urine for up to three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several times every week can check optimistic for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana even more ceaselessly can “check positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are just a number of the current points affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., based on a report from the White Home, but a growing variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that commercial vehicle drivers must bear once faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. According to the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 business drivers are presently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed at the current rate, the truck driver shortage will additional disrupt the supply chain, which implies higher prices not only for commodities but the cost of living at giant.

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