WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s anticipated move to recategorize marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act will likely lead to more truck crashes unless safeguards are put in place, the American Trucking Associations has warned.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the Justice Department’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to reschedule the drug at a press briefing on Thursday.
“If finalized, marijuana will no longer hold the higher-level classification it currently holds over fentanyl and meth drugs driving our nation’s overdose epidemic, and it will remove burdensome, long-standing barriers to critical research,” Jean-Pierre said.
“This announcement builds on the work President Biden has already done to pardon a record number of federal offenses for simply possessing marijuana.”
According to DOJ, the proposed change is consistent with the view of the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use “as well as HHS’s views about marijuana’s abuse potential and level of physical or psychological dependence.” HHS recommended the change to the DOJ’s Drug Enforcement Agency last year.
In responding to the proposal, ATA noted that the Department of Transportation’s current drug and alcohol testing authority is limited by HHS’ Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs, which allow motor carriers to test for Schedule I or II drugs but not for Schedule III drugs.
“If this rulemaking is permitted to move forward without appropriate regulatory review, oversight and deliberation, ATA is concerned that it will severely curtail the ability of motor carriers and other employers of safety-sensitive positions to maintain a safe working environment, threatening the safety of all road users,” said Dan Horvath, ATA’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and safety policy.
In a letter Wednesday to DOJ, HHS and DOT in anticipation of the rescheduling, Horvath pointed out that marijuana represented close to 60% of all positive employer drug tests of regulated commercial drivers reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, based on FMCSA’s latest data.
He also cited recent examples of fatal crashes involving truck drivers who had used marijuana, including a multivehicle crash in Indiana last year that killed seven people and a crash this year in Texas involving a cement-truck driver who hit a school bus head-on, killing one child.
“Rescheduling marijuana without an explicit drug testing carveout for safety-sensitive workers could ultimately lead to more devastating tragedies like these and add to the ever-increasing death toll on our nation’s roadways,” Horvath wrote.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association had a more cautious response to the proposed rule.
“OOIDA has a large, diverse membership and we are in the process of garnering feedback,” said OOIDA spokesman George O’Connor in a statement.
“There are still plenty of questions to be addressed on the topic, particularly because a person who tests positive is not necessarily under the influence and may not have been under the influence for weeks.”
Wilbur
Using hair follicle tests is like giving a driver a sobriety test after finding a crumpled-up beer can in the bed of a pickup. Companies should simply use the swab test for cannabis for a random or incidental test. If a driver is showing signs of harder drug use, (people that have been around for a while can tell) THEN give them a hair follicle test to confirm positivity. The expensive hair follicle test can be used to confirm the presence of cannabinoids or harder drugs after a positive swab test or tweaker behavior.
Wayne Chavis
As being a trucker of 26 years that grew up in the industry and has seen the changes to trucking industry and the interstate highways and the foca rules and regulations I can definitely say that it is past time for the legalization of Mary Jane. I hold shares in MMNFQ that have gone to $0 frankly I’m surprised that it is still showing up on the market as an share interest investment.
Rather you are a user or not we all agree that the illegalization of cannabis is retículas. The government initially illegallized to spite the Native Americans just as they made it illegal for them to drink alcohol. But although the government has always predudized the Native Americans the plant has popularized itself throughout the world. To see the effects of the thc just look at other countries and cultures that have legalized the plant over 20 years ago. I’m sure there statistics speak in volume as to what to expect once the American government legalizes the plant. Let’s do it now and talk about it later.
Jason TN
Marijuana is only illegal because of the STREET SALES. IT IS COMMON knowledge in the U.S.A. if you want to be a drug dealer just cut in the right people to the money 💰 involved and you can sell anything you want. Don’t believe me just ask the CARTELS that do it everyday.
Political candidates don’t get elected on the working person’s dollar. Now STOP THE BS and get to the real problem….HERE’S AN IDEA MAKE EVERYTHING LEGAL and WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.
IF AN INDIVIDUAL CHOOSES TO SMOKE CRACK UNTIL 😤 ONES HEART EXPLODES SO BE IT….. 🤷 VETERANS by the thousands lost their lives for FREEDOM IN AMERICA 🇺🇸 to bad it DOESN’T EXIST.. NOW DISCUSS THE REAL PROBLEMS IN AMERICA NOT TRUCK DRIVERS SMOKING A JOINT…..THANKS FOR READING MY COMMENT. PEACE ✌️
David Fiske
The largest contributing factor to the number of crashes is to many regulations by the FMCSA,a (temporary organization set up to help reduce the number of accidents on our road ways).The truth is there is more accidents every year directly as a result to more regulations placed on the truckers.
Derp
Although I am all for testing drivers for impairment, no reason drivers should be barred from partaking in Marijuana, if legal in the state they live in, or for medical purposes where legal, while in the privacy in their home and off duty.
egmiller
It’s a fact that marijuana impairs judgement, distorts distance and perception, slows reaction times. The addition of oral fluid testing to DOT testing which looks for the parent drug and active ingredient (THC) showing current use rather than just the metabolites (indicating past use) will be a game changer for the trucking industry in making sure drugged drivers stay off the road. If you can’t pass an oral fluid test, you have no business being a commercial driver.
Dave
Just imagine if a drug-test would show the use of ANY alcohol(a drug) within the past 30 days… how many drivers would be looking for work. The same could be said for those monster drinks and use of excessive amounts of caffeine(a drug) within the past 30 days. nicotine is a drug as well…. It doesn’t say what other things that could be the cause of the accidents? Lack of sleep? Driving only because the electronic-log-book says it’s time to drive? Mechanical failures? They want to blame cannabis, there is a lot of money in the testing program $.