The steady decriminalization or legalization of marijuana across the U.S. often leads people to believe it represents the most commonly used recreational substance. But recent reports indicate an increased number of truckers are using hard drugs such as cocaine.
“It’s probably not a surprise that marijuana shows up as the number one drug, but this confirms previous reports showing just how widespread it is,” David Osiecki, senior consultant at Scopelitis Transportation, reportedly said. “There could be a lack of understanding in that if you’re a CDL holder, marijuana is a schedule one drug, which means it’s illegal for commercial drivers holding a federal license.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) released initial Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (DAC) results that indicated nearly 50 percent of positive tests were marijuana-related. That figure tallied 10,388 drug tests out of 21,156 positive tests. Cocaine ranked a distant second with only 15 percent positive tests.
“Our research found that DOT is seriously under-reporting the actual use of harder drugs by truck drivers, such as cocaine and illegal opioids,” Doug Voss, Professor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the University of Central Arkansas, reportedly said.
A recent study dug deeper than the routine urine analysis required by the federal government’s Clearinghouse. Truckers who failed a sobriety test or appeared impaired can be directed to undergo drug and alcohol scrutiny before returning to work. The academic study compared upwards of 1.5 million pre-employment urine samples with 593,832 hair samples provided by the Trucking Alliance. Many highly addictive substances leave traces in hair longer than in urine.
“Our analysis clearly concludes that hair testing identifies these harder drugs at higher percentages than the single urine testing method relied on by the federal government,” Voss reportedly said.
One of the underlying reasons the DAC program did not discover higher cocaine results is due to its procedures. The FMCSA typically limits testing to urine samples. Based on less advanced urine testing, the FMCSA sidelined nearly 55,000 CDL holders in 2020 for failed drug tests. If the recent study’s results hold up, that number could have more than doubled. Researchers indicate another 58,910 truck drivers could have been disqualified primarily for cocaine and opioid use. Researchers highlighted the following findings.
- Trucking Alliance drivers were less inclined to use illegal drugs than the overall truck driver population.
- Trucking Alliance drivers passed urine drug tests 269 percent more frequently than their DAC counterparts.
- Disqualified Trucking Alliance drivers used cocaine 16.20 percent more frequently and opioids 14.34 percent more frequently than the DAC urine results.
“Federal law prohibits truck drivers from using illegal drugs, yet thousands are escaping detection,” managing director of the Trucking Alliance Lane Kidd reportedly said. “Drug-impaired truck drivers are a critical public safety issue but employing these drivers can be a considerable liability risk. Until hair is recognized as a single test method, employers should consider what Trucking Alliance carriers are doing and require driver applicants to pass the required urine test and also a hair test.”
Sources: truckinginfo.com, supplychain247.com
Both urine and hair samples should be used no questions. The only was to make the roads safer. Would be nice to know all truck drivers I share the road with would not be drug users. Only ones who would not favor this would be a drug user.By the way i have driven a truck since 1977 31 years with same company.
We all know GW Bush liked to party. Fool me once, uhh shame on you fool me twice, you cant fool me twice. ~President 😂 William Jefferson Clinton practically was the poster boy for coke, hookers while gov’nor and… ~President 😂
More laws, more loss of freedom more bootlickers. Less take home