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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer cabinets, and inflated costs have turn out to be the norm for American customers over the previous two years. Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are different challenges causing provide chain points, including an absence of truck drivers to transport goods from one place to a different. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driving force shortage had risen to an all-time excessive of 80,000, partly due to the getting older inhabitants 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 business licenses. However, that won’t affect another hurdle: disparate marijuana legal guidelines across 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 could soon worsen the already struggling supply chain.

As extra states legalize recreational marijuana—four of which did so previously yr and three more are expected to by the top of 2022—extra truck drivers have tested optimistic for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 industrial automobile drivers have examined constructive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% enhance year over 12 months.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal functions. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they could still be faced with a violation as a result of Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy on the federal stage.

“Whereas states may enable medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not recognize any reliable medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial automobile drivers reads. “Even if a state permits using marijuana, DOT regulations deal with its use as the same as the use of another illicit drug.”

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

Underneath rules set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—together with marijuana—previous to beginning a new job. They can 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 fee from 25% of the typical number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use by way of urinalysis, but there are actually new saliva checks being proposed as well.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that may be grounds for termination beneath DOT laws. At best, they are quickly taken off the street and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation course of, which might generally take months.

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

Lately, extra states have legalized each recreational and medical marijuana, making it more extensively out there and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use remains to be prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver could not use marijuana even when [it] is advisable by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s change into legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the applying of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing rules.”

A commercial driver could use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state the place marijuana is legal, but still check constructive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the street. The American Habit Facilities says for rare marijuana customers—that means those who use the substance lower than two occasions a week—it will possibly present up in their urine for as much as three days. Somebody who makes use of marijuana several occasions a week can take a look at constructive for as much as three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more ceaselessly can “test positive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, factory closures, and items ready to be unloaded at ports are simply among the present issues affecting the availability chain throughout America. Trucking transports 72% of merchandise within the U.S., according to a report from the White Home, however a growing variety of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that commercial automobile drivers must undergo as soon as confronted 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 industrial drivers are presently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD process. 

If violations proceed on the present rate, the truck driver shortage will additional disrupt the provision chain, which means larger costs not only for commodities but the cost of living at giant.

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