WASHINGTON — Some truck drivers are urging the Biden administration to approve reclassifying marijuana to a Schedule III drug, but employers that fear safety would decline and put trucking companies at risk are pushing back.
Only a fraction of the more than 20,000 comments filed so far in the rulemaking, published in May by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration, are from truck drivers. (The comment period ends July 22.) But so far, they overwhelmingly — and anonymously — favor reclassification.
“As a truck driver in the United States I would like to be able to use marijuana on my time off just the same as any driver can come home and drink alcohol on their time off,” stated one commenter.
“I believe it is unfair that I can lose my job and my license if I have used marijuana and a month later I can still lose my job if I come out ‘dirty’ in a random drug test. The statistics are there and proven that alcohol is the leading cause of death in car accidents compared to nearly zero percent with marijuana.”
Another driver commented: “We can go have drinks after we get done from a long day (partaking in something that is known to cause death and serious injuries when incoherent) but we can’t smoke something that has medical benefits, something that will help truckers sleep better at night, deal with pain from being behind the wheel and [from] basic physical activity from the job, and deal with stress anxiety of the job and being away from home.”
A CDL holder who claimed to also be a driver trainer said safety concerns raised by the American Trucking Associations, including the risk that impaired truck drivers operating undetected on the nation’s roadways would increase, are valid.
However, “de-scheduling would not be equal to it being ok for drivers to use cannabis while actively working,” the commenter said. “I would expect my drivers to not drink alcohol at work, take NyQuil before a shift or a prescription that would interfere with driving, or get behind the wheel with lack of sleep — and the same would apply to those who take cannabis.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended reclassifying marijuana – currently a Schedule 1 substance along with LSD and heroin – to DOJ last year, after HHS determined that marijuana has a “relatively lower level of abuse compared to drugs currently scheduled in Schedules I and II and its evaluation that marijuana may lead to moderate or low physical dependence and has a low likelihood of psychic dependence.”
However, ATA pointed out that current DOT drug and alcohol testing requirements are limited in their testing authority by HHS, which allows regulated employers to test only for those drugs listed in Schedule I or II.
Therefore, without providing an exception for truck-driver testing, rescheduling the drug without could lead to more highway deaths, according to ATA – particularly given that close to 60% of all positive employer drug tests were pegged to marijuana, based on recent federal data.
Regulatory carve-out needed?
Janet Kornmann, owner of KorManagement Services LLC, a drug and alcohol screening consultancy, agrees with ATA that there should be a “safety carve out” to allow HHS to continue to test for marijuana for those working in certain industries, such as trucking.
“These safety-sensitive employees have been subject to testing for marijuana and other drugs since shortly after catastrophic accidents caused by marijuana use occurred in the mid- and late-1980s,” Kornmann stated in comments filed in the rulemaking.
“My concern is that if marijuana rescheduled as a Schedule 3 drug … it will give [those who use it] the false pretense that the drug is okay to use anywhere anytime. If that person works in a safety-sensitive position where they can harm themselves, other employees or the public this may become an issue as this drug does affect response time and critical thinking.”
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