Cannabis Laws Exacerbate Trucking Shortage
Congress and the Biden administration have made efforts to put more commercial truck drivers on the road to help ease the supply chain issues. However, the federal ban on marijuana use is hampering this goal. The federal ban impacts drivers who use marijuana only when off-duty, as well as those who consumed hemp derivatives such as CBD oil that are advertised as non-psychoactive. Truckers who drive cross-country also face an array of confusing state regulations (18 states have legalized recreational marijuana use and another 37 allow medical use). Another complication is that the only accepted roadside tests for marijuana use can produce positive results more than a month after the person smoked or consumed it, unlike commonly used breathalyzer tests for alcohol impairment, which give a snapshot of the moment the test was conducted. Currently, the Transportation Department is soliciting comments on a new standard for marijuana tests that would zero in on recent use, but that process is still in the early stages. Read more
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