The new marijuana testing rule sidelines truckers just when we need them most

State regulations allow long-distance drivers to drive up to 11 hours per day in a 14-hour shift. The maximum weight for a tractor-trailer truck with a loaded trailer on US roads is 80,000 pounds.

Obviously nobody wants the person driving one of these behemoths on the freeway to be affected in any way.

But should smoking a joint recreationally get you fired and effectively barred from rejoining the industry? Because that’s exactly what’s happening. In fact, it has already sidelined tens of thousands of truckers at a deeply challenging time for the American supply chain.

Outdated rules just got a whole lot worse in 2020

Outdated drug testing regulations were an issue even before the pandemic. Truckers were allowed to drink as much alcohol as they wanted off-duty, but cannabis use remained banned even in fully legal states.

The problem worsened in January 2020, just before the first pandemic lockdowns, when a series of new nationwide regulations came into effect. Those regulations included a new registry that prevents drivers who fail a drug test from getting another driving job without first completing an arduous reinstatement process.

According to a report by Stacker released earlier this year, the number of drivers testing positive for THC in 2022 is on track for a 32% increase from 2021. The headline: “Marijuana violations this year taken more than 10,000 truckers off the road.”

Fortunately, one of the cannabis industry’s biggest supporters is sounding the alarm in Congress.

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Cannabis Caucus vs Department of Transportation

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, is urging the Federal Department of Transportation to strengthen and change regulations for 2020.

“As the United States faces an unprecedented supply chain crisis, tens of thousands of professional drivers are being suspended from duty due to past cannabis use,” Blumenauer wrote in a letter to transportation officials. “These disqualifications deny people the right to earn a living, reduce the workforce when drivers are urgently needed, and penalize people of color and patients who legally use medicinal cannabis.”

Under the Department of Transportation’s federal drug and alcohol testing regulations, anyone in possession of a commercial driver’s license is required to undergo the following types of drug testing upon request: pre-employment, post-accident, incidental testing, reasonable suspicion, return-to-duty, and Follow-up.

“Once a CDL driver has been notified to report for testing, they must report to the collection point immediately. DOT drug testing only recognizes urinalysis as a valid means of drug testing.”

Old drug tests don’t fit today’s conditions

What the guidelines don’t make clear is that — depending on a number of factors — a person who takes a urine test can come back positive for THC a month (or even longer) after their last exposure date. This means that responsible drivers who eat a weed gum or dab on their day off can lose their livelihood, even in states where cannabis is perfectly legal, despite never driving high once.

If this happened to just one person, it would be a grave injustice. However, a look at statistics recently released by the Department of Transport shows that such incidents have reached critical proportions.

In fact, enough truckers have been fired for failing cannabis tests to bring the entire transportation industry to the brink of collapse while greatly exacerbating America’s intersectional problems of supply chain disruptions and rising inflation.

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Find a solution

The American Trucking Association reports that the United States is currently operating with a shortage of 80,000 drivers.

“Your department recognizes that outdated cannabis testing has put tens of thousands of drivers out of service over the past two years,” Blumenauer continued in his letter to the DOT. “The true impact of this policy is likely to be greater, as many people will retire themselves if they know drug testing requirements… The current Department of Transportation policies are contributing to supply chain backlogs and delays in critical shipments across the American economy.” at. ”

Aside from drug testing, trucks and transportation have been seriously impacted by rising fuel prices, increased labor costs and COVID-related supply chain disruptions. All of this makes it significantly more difficult and expensive to get goods to market on time. Which in turn is contributing to America’s skyrocketing inflation.

Fortunately, this sluggish effect on the broader economy may be needed to get the federal government to re-examine these unfair drug testing protocols.

Saliva tests: a half-step improvement

Along with an increased emphasis on recruiting and training more drivers, the Department of Transportation recently solicited public comment on a proposed new policy that would replace urine testing with saliva testing.

Saliva testing shortens the window for a potentially positive THC result from weeks to just 24 hours since last exposure. That’s still long enough to unfairly catch drivers who are no longer impaired, but would greatly reduce such cases.

The proposed new rules would also raise the threshold for a positive result to “4 nanograms per milliliter screening test cut-off for THC,” which the DOT said would “detect use of marijuana while eliminating the possibility of positive tests due to passive exposure.” .

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Rider caught in a Catch-22

While adjusting drug testing program protocols would help reduce the number of drivers who will be fired for after-hours cannabis use in the future, tens of thousands of wrongly targeted drivers remain stranded on the side of the road. And while there’s technically a program to get them reinstated, the process involves finding an employer to act as your sponsor.

Most employers already have a policy in place to fire any driver who fails a drug test, so there’s a catch-22: you get fired for failing a drug test and then have to find a new job that does Helps you get back on the road. But you cannot be hired because you are not authorized to drive.

Even benevolent employers may be reluctant to give drivers a second chance, as they may have concerns about litigation should a reinstated driver on their payroll later be involved in an accident. As a result, less than 25% of affected drivers are back on the road. Most don’t even try.

As Rep. Blumenaeuer pointed out in his letter, countless other drivers have either left the profession voluntarily or have chosen not to join rather than undergoing such a test.

And there’s another factor in the nation’s truck driver shortage: labor competition.

Amazon is hiring and not testing for THC

In September 2021, Bloomberg first reported that Amazon has encouraged its delivery partners to openly advertise that they are no longer drug test drivers for cannabis.

In correspondence verified by Bloomberg, Amazon claimed that this pledge increased the number of applicants by 400%, while testing for cannabis could reduce the number of applicants for the same job by up to 30%.

Amazon famously announced last year that it would stop testing its own employees for THC and begin lobbying Congress to legalize cannabis.

In fact, Amazon may offer a template for a more sensible policy going forward: Target workplace impairments (from any source) rather than testing for legal off-duty use.

The company has a zero-tolerance policy for workplace impairments.

“If a delivery worker is disabled at work and tests positive following an accident or reasonable suspicion, that person may no longer perform services for Amazon,” the statement said.

It’s the country’s largest retailer and second-largest private employer, distinguishing between legal, responsible cannabis use and high-on-the-road. Time will tell if the DOT can follow their example.

David Beehive

Veteran cannabis journalist David Bienenstock is the author of How to Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High (2016 – Penguin/Random House) and co-host and co-creator of the Great Moments in Weed History podcast with Abdullah and Bean.” Follow him on Twitter @pot_handbook.

View David Bienenstock’s articles

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