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

(Stacker) - Delayed packages, naked grocery retailer shelves, and inflated prices have change into the norm for American shoppers over the previous two years. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst, there are other challenges inflicting supply chain points, together with a lack 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 high of 80,000, partly because of the growing older 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 economic licenses. However, that won’t affect one other hurdle: disparate marijuana laws across the U.S. which might be contributing to a rise in violations. In 2022, a rising variety of truckers are being taken off the job, which could soon worsen the already suffering provide chain.

As extra states legalize leisure marijuana—four of which did so in the past year 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 automobile drivers have examined positive for marijuana use. By the identical time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% improve 12 months over year.

Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state laws as 19 states have legalized leisure marijuana and 37 states allow it for medicinal functions. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD whereas off duty in a state the place those substances are legal, they could still be faced with a violation due to the Division of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance coverage at the federal degree.

“Whereas states might permit medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy don't recognize any professional medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for industrial car drivers reads. “Even when a state permits the usage of marijuana, DOT rules treat its use as the identical as using some other illicit drug.”

Stacker looked at what’s causing thousands 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—prior to starting a brand new job. They may also be tested at random, in addition to after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Provider Safety Administration additionally 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, however there are actually new saliva exams being proposed as effectively.

At worst, if a driver fails just one drug check, that can be grounds for termination beneath DOT regulations. At finest, they're briefly taken off the road and required to complete an analysis with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which might sometimes take months.

As of January 2020, employers are additionally required to list industrial drivers who fail a drug take a look at within the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain searchable for 5 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 years, extra states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more broadly out there and used. Nonetheless, marijuana use is still prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state legal guidelines and medical prescriptions apart. In line with the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is recommended 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 different jurisdictions additionally has not modified the appliance of U.S. Division of Transportation drug testing laws.”

A commercial driver might use marijuana whereas off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, however nonetheless check constructive for the substance for as much as a month later and be taken off the street. The American Dependancy Centers says for rare marijuana customers—which means those that use the substance lower than two occasions every week—it will possibly present up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who makes use of marijuana several instances per week can test constructive for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana much more often can “test constructive for a month or longer.”

Shortages, manufacturing facility 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 products throughout the U.S., in line with a report from the White Home, however a growing variety of industrial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

The return-to-duty process that industrial car drivers must endure once faced with a marijuana violation can hold them from returning to work at all. In keeping with the FMCSA’s month-to-month report, 89,650 business drivers are at present in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD course of. 

If violations proceed on the current charge, the truck driver shortage will additional disrupt the provision chain, which implies higher prices not only for commodities however the price of residing at giant.

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