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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer shelves, and inflated costs have become the norm for American consumers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting supply chain points, including an absence of truck drivers to move items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly as a result of growing older inhabitants and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the highway by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of economic licenses. However, that won’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. which can be contributing to an increase in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which may quickly worsen the already suffering provide chain.

As extra states legalize leisure marijuana—4 of which did so up to now year and three more are anticipated to by the tip of 2022—extra truck drivers have tested optimistic for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 business vehicle drivers have tested optimistic for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase yr over 12 months.

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

“Whereas states could enable medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy don't recognize any official medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for business vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state permits the use of marijuana, DOT laws treat its use as the same as using some other illicit drug.”

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

Below regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—including marijuana—prior to starting a brand new job. They can be tested at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Service Security Administration also upped the random drug testing price 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 actually new saliva tests being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug take a look at, that may be grounds for termination below DOT laws. At best, they're quickly taken off the road and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which may typically take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to list commercial drivers who fail a drug take a look at within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations stay searchable for 5 years. Potential employers are additionally required to test the Clearinghouse to see if a industrial driver had any earlier violations, which might stop them from being employed.

Lately, extra states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it extra extensively accessible and used. Nevertheless, marijuana use continues to be prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver might not use marijuana even when [it] is really helpful by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s change into 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 rules.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, but nonetheless take a look at optimistic for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the street. The American Habit Centers says for infrequent marijuana users—that means those that use the substance less than two times per week—it may well present up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several instances every week can test positive for up to three weeks, and those that use marijuana much more steadily can “test optimistic for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply a number of the present points affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of products throughout the U.S., based on a report from the White Home, but a rising number of business drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that industrial vehicle drivers must endure once confronted with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. Based on the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 industrial drivers are at the moment in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed at the current price, the truck driver scarcity will further disrupt the provision chain, which suggests greater costs not just for commodities however the cost of living at massive.

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