smoking marijuana is still illegal according to the federal govt Dept of Transportation, and they control interstate trucking.
As over the past decade more states legalized recreational marijuana—four of which did so in the past year and three more are expected to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have tested positive, and lost their class a license
As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial vehicle drivers have tested positive for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase year over year.
Truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—prior to starting a new job. They can also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50%.
According to the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is recommended by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s become legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”
I think the time is long over due for the govt to quit demonizing pot, as the Reagan era war on drugs has long proven to have been a waste of time, budgets, and lives - but it sure did prove useful for the CIA and DEA to make money from!
It seems to make no sense to allow alcohol to be the legal cause of inebriation, but deem smoking pot a federal crime. One has been the cause of so much domestic violence and dui deaths, the other the reason Doritos sell so many chips.
No comments:
Post a Comment