ATRI Report Assessing Impact Of Weed Legalization On Trucking Industry Reveals Driver Shortages And Frustration

The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a new report Monday revealing the consequences of marijuana legalization on the trucking industry. The analysis was a top priority for ATRI’s Research Advisory Committee and it provided an overview of data connected to highway safety and cannabis use, as well as a summary of workforce and hiring implications for the industry.

The report revealed that both drivers and carriers are equally frustrated with current drug testing limitations, or more precisely with the lack of a proper test for cannabis impairment.

"Minnesota recently joined the growing list of states legalizing recreational marijuana,” said Minnesota Trucking Association president John Hausladen. “This action underscores the critical need for tools to effectively determine marijuana impairment by current and prospective employees. As an industry committed to workplace and roadway safety, we owe it to ourselves and our families to make sure we can screen to maintain a clean and sober workforce.”

According to recent data from the federal Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, the number of truck drivers testing positive for weed grew by 9.2% in the first quarter of 2023. What’s more, a large number of those who failed their tests end up not taking part in the return-to-work program. While marijuana is not the only cause of the lack of workforce in the industry it is an important contributor. The latest ATA estimates show the truck driver shortage could reach 160,000 by 2030.

Consequences have already been seen in the supply chain. "Nearly three-quarters of the US economy's goods and nearly all products sold in grocery stores are transported daily by the trucking industry, which has grappled with a historic shortage of 80,000 drivers for over a year,” writes Food Navigator USA. “The dearth of drivers has resulted in delayed deliveries and higher costs, which negatively impact all stakeholders along the value chain from producers to retailers to consumers.”

What If...?

The ATRI study provides strategies and implications of the two pathways the federal government can take in response to advancing legalization efforts.

The first is that nothing changes and marijuana remains a Schedule 1 drug, resulting in the continued trend of losing thousands of drivers a year because of positive tests for past cannabis use.

The second would imagine the possible removal of marijuana from the Schedule 1 list of controlled substances and therefore ease restrictions. This pathway, however, is not without significant challenges, the report notes, identifying several protections that must be developed for employers in safety-sensitive industries. These include the development of a nationally recognized marijuana impairment test and impairment standards, as well as provisions that protect a carrier's ability to screen employees for drug use. The report also highlights the need for developing a greater knowledge of cannabis impacts on highway safety through federal research and data collection - “key to this is post-crash marijuana impairment testing capabilities.”

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Caleb Ruiter on Unsplash and Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels