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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated prices have develop 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, together with an absence of truck drivers to transport items from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver scarcity had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the growing old inhabitants and shrinking wages.

In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get extra truck drivers on the street by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of economic licenses. Nevertheless, that won’t have an effect on one other hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines throughout the U.S. which can be contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a growing 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 previously yr and three more are expected to by the tip of 2022—extra truck drivers have examined optimistic for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial vehicle drivers have tested optimistic for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% improve year over year.

Truck drivers who journey cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal functions. However even when a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off responsibility in a state the place these substances are legal, they may nonetheless be faced with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal stage.

“Whereas states could allow medical use of marijuana, federal legal guidelines and policy do not acknowledge any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even if a state allows using marijuana, DOT rules treat its use as the same as the usage of every other illicit drug.”

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

Beneath laws set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are examined for drug use—together with marijuana—prior 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 Carrier Security Administration also upped the random drug testing charge from 25% of the average variety of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are primarily screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, however there are actually new saliva checks being proposed as nicely.

At worst, if a driver fails only one drug check, that may be grounds for termination underneath DOT regulations. At greatest, they are briefly taken off the road and required to finish an analysis with a substance misuse skilled who determines their rehabilitation process, which might typically take months.

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

In recent times, extra states have legalized both leisure and medical marijuana, making it more extensively available and used. However, marijuana use is still prohibited for business truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In keeping with the FMCSA, “a driver might not use marijuana even if [it] is advisable by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even because it’s turn out to be legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions additionally has not modified the applying of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

A industrial driver might use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, however nonetheless test constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the street. The American Addiction Centers says for rare marijuana customers—meaning those that use the substance lower than two times a week—it might probably show up in their urine for as much as three days. Someone who uses marijuana several times per week can check constructive for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more often can “test constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing unit closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are simply among the current issues affecting the availability chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., in line with a report from the White House, but a growing variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty course of that business car drivers must endure once faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. In accordance with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 commercial drivers are currently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, however 67,368 of them haven't begun the RTD course of. 

If violations continue on the current rate, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the provision chain, which implies increased prices not just for commodities however the cost of living at massive.

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