Attention truckers, don't be in any hurry to fire up a doobie anytime soon just because the president took steps to lower marijuana's legal classification.
The Department of Transportation says pot remains off limits for truckers and other "safety-sensitive transportation employees," and a leading trucking organization has raised question about testing for drivers.
On Dec. 18 President Donald Trump signed an of executive order directing the Department of Justice to complete the rescheduling process of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Trump said the change was to facilitate research into the medical benefits of cannabis.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation said it has received inquiries about what impact Trumps executive order will have on the DOT's longstanding regulation about the use of marijuana by truckers as well as pilots, school bus drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, and others.
The DOT's response said:
"First – Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug under the CSA until any rescheduling is complete. It remains unacceptable for any safety‐sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.
"Second – Until the rescheduling process is complete, the Department of Transportation’s drug testing process and regulations will not change. Transportation employees in safety-sensitive positions will still be subject to testing for marijuana. Furthermore, the Department’s guidance on medical and recreational marijuana and CBD are still in effect."
The DOT said laboratories, medical review officers and substance abuse professionals must continue to follow 49 CFR Part 40. There are no changes to their roles and responsibilities as they relate to marijuana.
"We will continue to monitor the rescheduling process and update the transportation industry as appropriate," the DOT said in its statement. "We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be."
The American Trucking Associations' Vice President of Safety Policy Brenna Lyles weighed in on the issue with this statement:
“While we do not hold a formal position on marijuana legalization or deregulation, we are concerned about the safety risks of rescheduling marijuana without explicit safeguards to preserve the testing authority and technical requirements that apply to DOT-regulated, safety-sensitive workers. A safe driver is a qualified driver. And a qualified driver is drug- and alcohol-free. Motor carriers must retain reliable, enforceable tools to ensure they are not putting unqualified drivers behind the wheel.
“Without clear measures to ensure DOT’s drug- and alcohol-testing program retains — and is equipped to execute — marijuana testing authority, such a federal policy shift could have serious consequences for highway safety and the integrity of the national transportation network. This risk is exacerbated by the fact that there is currently no proven, widely accepted standard to determine marijuana impairment at roadside or before a driver begins operating a vehicle, making it far more difficult to prevent impaired driving.
"The stakes are not theoretical. Marijuana accounts for nearly 60 percent of all positive drug tests among commercial drivers subject to DOT testing requirements."
