A new study by the American Transportation Research Institute has found cannabis laws are costing the trucking industry thousands of jobs as more licensed truck drivers believe current testing policies are causing potential applicants to stay away from the trucking industry.
Federal law prohibits truck drivers from consuming cannaibs and the trucking industry uses a variety of testing measures, including pre-employment screening and randomized drug tests. A survey component of the ATRI report found 72.4 percent of respondents support loosening cannabis laws and testing positives, and 66.5 percent of respondents believing cannabis should be federally legal. The survey found 50.2 percent of respondents believe “it is either very common or common to leave the industry” to leave the industry because of cannabis-related rules.
“Should the federal government maintain current marijuana laws, the trucking industry will continue to have thousands of drivers annually placed in prohibited status and will lose many others to occupations that do not test for marijuana use,” said ATRI in its study. “Ultimately this puts pressure on the availability of CDL drivers.”
The study reported prohibition “has been highlighted as a potential disincentive for drivers to stay in the industry, and it has even been argued that loosening the restrictions on marijuana use would make the industry more attractive and widen the potential labor pool.” The report also noted current testing may have an impact on staffing in the industry since it may be effective in removing a driver who is impaired on the job, but also may remove a driver who used cannabis in the past but wouldn’t operate the truck while impaired.
“Minnesota recently joined the growing list of states legalizing recreational marijuana. This action underscores the critical need for tools to effectively determine marijuana impairment by current and prospective employees. As an industry committed to workplace and roadway safety, we owe it to ourselves and our families to make sure we can screen to maintain a clean and sober workforce,” said Minnesota Trucking Association President John Hausladen.
According to the report, there are two pathways the federal government can take in response to the spread of legalization efforts across the country, both having an impact and presenting challenges to the trucking industry.
The government can maintain cannabis’s status as a Schedule I drug while “the trucking industry will continue to have thousands of drivers annually placed in prohibited status and will lose many others to occupations that do not test for marijuana use” or the government can begin to ease restrictions and possibly remove cannabis from the Schedule I list, which would also pose significant challenges for the industry.
The report noted that several protections must be put in place before any federal legalization action is taken, such as the development of a nationally recognized cannabis impairment test and impairment standards as well as provisions that protect a carrier’s ability to screen for employee drug use.
Federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse data found the number of truck drivers testing positive for THC rose 9.2 percent in the first three months of 2023, with a large majority choosing not to pursue the return-to-work program. Through the end of March, 129,000 drivers were under “prohibited” status for failing any of the 14 different types of drugs tested by the Department of Transportation, with 97,833 not having started the return-to-work program.
A 2022 survey by the U.S Department of Transportation stated that as of April 1, 2022, over 10,000 commercial truckers had tested positive for THC, and cannabis had led the data as the drug with the highest number of positive tests. The 2022 numbers were a decrease compared to the 31,085 violations in 2021 and 29,511 violations in 2020.
