Is Pot Policy to Blame for the So-Called “Truck Driver Shortage”?

By: ClassADrivers.com

Photo by manish panghal on Unsplash

The evidence is all over: truck drivers are in high demand. Many companies are raising wages and adding benefits to attract new and lapsed drivers. A new “Trucking Action Plan” is being implemented from the White House to increase the workforce. But one industry expert says that a major problem is pot policy.

Chris Harvey, Wells Fargo’s head of equity strategy, spoke to a trucking industry conference and laid out his case: “It’s really about drug testing.”

While Harvey does not exclude the difficult nature of OTR trucking, such as the long hours away from home, he points out that a legalization of recreational marijuana use in America has coincided with a harsh crackdown truck drivers.

Clearinghouse – A Drug War Against Truck Drivers

Nobody wants truck drivers who are incapacitated to drive, whether from marijuana, alcohol, or painkillers. In 2020, the FMCSA implemented a new database called Clearinghouse, which went way to far to achieving that objective.

Drivers might be subjected to random drug testing, and all truck drivers who failed a test would be listed in a Clearinghouse database, a record which would permanently follow them around and dissuade other trucking companies from hiring a “drug user”.

While truck drivers could legally partake in marijuana at home in a state where the plant is legal, the metabolites remain in their system. A drug test could then give them a positive result, long after the effects wear off. And because truck driving is federally regulated, a positive test can result in a suspension of their Commercial Drivers’ License.

The Damage Done to the Trucking Industry

As of this past December, over 60,000 truck drivers have had to stop driving after testing The numbers are also going up. According to the FMCSA, the number of CDL users who tested positive for marijuana in 2021 was up 5.3% from 2020, but this could be attributed to the rise in state legalization across the country – a very unfair situation for truck drivers.

Marijuana is legal in 37 states for medicinal use and 18 states for recreational use. Truck drivers taking legally marijuana in one state can still lose their federal license to drive, and they can test positive days after taking the drug.

If the federal government is truly concerned about the number of truck drivers, then it’s time to rethink this unfair policy towards truck drivers.