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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery store cabinets, and inflated costs have grow to be the norm for American shoppers over the past two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges inflicting provide chain issues, including a lack of truck drivers to move items from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the motive force shortage had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly due to the growing old population and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. However, that received’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 might quickly worsen the already suffering provide chain.

As more states legalize recreational marijuana—four of which did so prior to now yr and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—more truck drivers have tested constructive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business car drivers have tested constructive for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% improve 12 months over yr.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal purposes. However even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off obligation in a state where those substances are legal, they might still be faced with a violation because of the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage on the federal level.

“Whereas states might enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and coverage don't recognize any reputable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial vehicle drivers reads. “Even when a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT rules deal with its use as the identical as the use of some 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.

Underneath regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—previous to starting a brand new job. They can also be examined at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Safety Administration also upped the random drug testing fee from 25% of the average variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use through urinalysis, but there are now new saliva assessments being proposed as properly.

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

As of January 2020, employers are additionally 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 five years. Potential employers are additionally required to check the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any previous violations, which might forestall them from being hired.

In recent times, extra states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it extra extensively obtainable and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions apart. Based on the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even when [it] is beneficial by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s grow to be 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 rules.”

A business driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is authorized, but nonetheless check optimistic for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Facilities says for rare marijuana customers—meaning those who use the substance less than two occasions per week—it can present up in their urine for as much as three days. Someone who uses marijuana several times every week can take a look at constructive for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more ceaselessly can “take a look at optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility closures, and goods ready to be unloaded at ports are simply among the current issues affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise inside the U.S., in response to a report from the White Home, but a rising variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that commercial vehicle drivers should endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can keep them from returning to work in any respect. In accordance with the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 commercial drivers are currently in prohibited standing as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue at the present charge, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which suggests greater costs not just for commodities however the price of living at massive.

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