The cannabis movement has never had as much momentum as it does right now.
A full 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use of the drug, with the majority of the new states coming online within the last five years (states like Oregon, Washington, Vermont and Alaska were earlier to the party).
So far, 38 states have medical cannabis provisions.
While four states legalized weed last year, only Rhode Island has been able to do so in 2022.
Despite the slow moving legislative process, the momentum for legalization among the citizenry is strong.
A recent poll from TheEconomist and YouGov.com showed that 58% of Americans believe that marijuana should be legal compared to 28% who say it shouldn't be legal.
Despite the public support, the political side of the equation is seemingly the same as it's always been.
Cannabis is a Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act, on the same prohibitive level as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote.
The federal government treats weed harshly which is especially bad at a time when legalization is advancing.
And now, truckers are caught in the middle at a time when there's a shortage of drivers.
Truck Drivers Taken Off-Road
Truck drivers are basically barred from cannabis (whether for recreational or medical use) regardless of which state they live in, based on Department of Transportation rules that have gone into effect over the past two years.
"While states may allow medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not recognize any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial vehicle drivers says, KSN, the NBC affiliate in Joplin, MO, reported.
“Even if a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the same as the use of any other illicit drug.”
In January 2020, the DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration doubled its random drug testing rate to 50% of driver positions from 25%.
And since marijuana violations account for 45% of all positive DOT drug tests, according to FMCSA clearinghouse data, it seems the plan was to catch more weed smokers.
In April, the clearinghouse reported 5,693 total drug violations. In June, that number was up to 6,362 violations.
More than half of Americans, 55%, have used cannabis products and 42% have used cannabis products in the past 12 months, according to a June SICPA/Harris Poll. Out of the 2,000 adult respondents, 16% had used cannabis for the first time within the past 12 months.
But truck drivers on their down time are ostensibly barred from using cannabis products due to random drug tests and the fact that marijuana stays in your system for two-to-three days for infrequent smokers, and for up to a month for frequent users.
"Random marijuana testing in the workplace, such as pre-employment drug screening, has never been an evidence-based policy. Rather, this discriminatory practice is a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s ‘war on drugs. But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed," said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano.
Trucker Shortage Is Being Made Worse
Trucking accounts for the delivery of about 72% of the goods sold in America, according to the White House, so the industry is vital to the American economic supply chain.
President Joe Biden's administration says trucking employment exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 35,000 earlier this year and is higher than it was before the decline began in 2019.
But the trucking industry averages a 90% annual turnover rate as drivers move between job opportunities frequently. On top of that, about 300,000 truck drivers leave the profession every year, according to the DOT, CBSNews reported.
So taking tens of thousands of drivers off the road can't be good for the supply chain.
CDL/CLP holders who have drug and alcohol violations recorded in the clearinghouse "must be removed from safety-sensitive functions, including operating a commercial motor vehicle, until the return-to duty (RTD) process is completed," according to DOT rules.
As of June 1, there are 96,570 truckers in prohibited status, of that amount 72,808 had not even started the process required to return to the road.
At a time when the country is facing rampant inflation and is teetering on a recession, a respite for truck drivers who use cannabis legally and responsibly at home seems like an easy win for the Biden administration.
