A trucker who used a cannabidiol to help with pain was fired by his company when he failed a drug test. Now he’s suing the company who made the cannabidiol product because there wasn’t supposed to be any THC in it – the principal psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.
Douglas Horn and his wife drove as a team for 10 years. They were successful, making around $200,000 a year annually. But an injury from a truck accident had Horn suffering from back and shoulder pain. He saw an ad for a hemp cannabidoil (CBD) product manufactured by Dixie Elixirs, and decided to try it.
“As an over-the-road trucker, subject to regular and random drug-test screenings, I was acutely aware that in addition to the prohibition from smoking marijuana, I could not take any product with THC in it,” Horn wrote in an sworn affidavit filed as part of his lawsuit.
The product was made from industrial hemp, not marijuana. According to the manufacturer, the product didn’t have any Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in it, only CBD. CBD is non-psychoactive, and is used for its medicinal properties including as a painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug.
But when Horn was drug tested by his company after taking the drug, he was told he had almost double the allowable cut-off for a “marijuana metabolite,” and was fired. When Horn underwent additional toxicology screenings, it came back with high levels of THC.
Horn is now suing Dixie Elixirs, claiming that despite the company’s claims that the product he took contained 0 THC, it clearly contained at least enough for him to lose his job.
Since he was fired, Horn has been unable to land a new trucking job given his prior failure of a drug test.
Source: ttnews
Ken says
NEVER BE YOUR OWN DOCTOR ON PAIN.GET A DOCTORS ORDER.THE WACKY WEED FOR THE MEDICAL FIELD MIGHT HELP SOME HUMANS.BUT IT IS NOW OUT OF CONTROL TO BE USED AS A RECREATIONAL PAST TIME.I SIT IN THE MASSAGE CHAIR FOR 3 DOLLARS.IM VERY HEALTHY.HOPE U WIN.
Paul Logan says
Maybe he should have checked out the company. First product is THC INFUSED SODA.
Scott says
Jesus dude take it down a notch.
Erick says
All I have to say is, I have worked for the railroad, and now I’m trucking, I have been under federal dot regulations for 26 yrs, when I go to dr. I tell them I am under dot regulations, and they know exactly how and what to prescribe someone for pain or anything that has to do with a medical issue
Kevin Chevalier says
I do the same thing with doctors telling them i’m under federal reg’s
they give me non scheduled one painkillers and muscle relaxers
but also find I still can’t function on them either so what’s next on the
list
Dudealucious says
Uh, yeah, well, party down, dude. I once used the story that my sun tan cream, made with hemp, fouled my piss test. Company in Texas, head medical dude, told my people , cuts possible BUT I doubt it!”
Well, I just partied down.
John says
Yep…you’ll be partying down. Right down to the unemployment office.
Kurtis says
Sad situation but something doesn’t add up here. If was involved in a truck accident and was having back pain didn’t he go to a doctor. Surely a doctor would have prescribe he some pain medicine or prescribe him some CBd without the hemp in. Lesson learned I guessed. If it isn’t prescribed by a doctor don’t trust these companies.
Mark says
You’re jumping to conclusions. First of all, with the new rules in place governing opioids, getting “pain pills” is nowhere as easy as it used to be. I found that out first-hand after rotator cuff surgery. I was still in significant pain when the doc told me he wasn’t allowed to give me any more vicodin…ibuprofen was going to have to do the trick. Secondly, many, many docs will not have anything to do with CBD, because they either don’t believe in it, or are beholden to the pharma reps who shower them with “incentives”. This guy got screwed by a company falsely claiming their CBD was THC-free. I hope he win a huge settlement, so he no longer HAS to try to get a driving job after failing a drug test.
Muhanned Elsayyid says
I totally agree…I would only add that he may have been prescribed pain meds at the beginning and after the doctors cut him off the pain persists sporadically and hence the CBD
R.J. says
I recently had two molars pulled and took Hydrocodone for a week.
I’m looking for a new job and hope it doesnt screw me up???
Walter R Grogan says
So long as it was prescribed by a Dr and you can show proof and tell the medical examiner who tests it you’ll be fine . Keep the bottle . You’ll come back positive and they’ll call you and ask for 360 degree pictures of the bottle .. once you submit it , you’ll be fine . Happened to me
Al says
Don’t know how long that was but now if tested positive even with a prescription it’s a 5 day out of service.look it up.
Robert says
Make sure you are fully off the drug before applying. Pre-employment drug screen will get you. Or declare to the company that you had surgery and what drug you were prescribed just to be on the safe side.
Dj says
It shouldn’t as long as you have a legitimate prescription for it
Les says
Three days and it should be gone from your system
Don says
Not true. Thc is stored in body fats and takes awhile to get out of your system. Depending on how long he was using the “CBD” oil it could take up to 30days to get out of his system
Supertrucking says
As long as you have a prescription in your name you’ll be fine. Opioids leave your system within days anyway.
mousekiller says
Many companies now use your hair to test for drug use and shaving your head will not stop it . It may just cost you that job.Drugs in your hair show when you took it and how long you have been using. If a person uses drugs they don’t need to be on the the road in any vehicle. legitimate use of prescribed meds is one thing , miss using them another.
HE says
There is no law telling doctors they cannot prescribe pain med opioids, it was merely a suggestion from CDC. If you no of a law please share. I also have pain management issues and doctors are scared to prescribe meds that help you.
Ken says
Ya he just got caught.and I my self think.he smoked some weed thinking he could blame it on that crap.and get away with it.just like people trying to say second hand smoke.had them dirty.it don’t just don’t smoke weed.
Steve Shoemaker says
You are an odiot, there def is THC in this stuff, my girlfriend ho never smojes weedd butbctried CBD for her neck was drig tested for a new job and failed, had very lil traces of THC and failed the test.
Mark says
Calling someone else an “odiot”, with the spelling in that post, is pretty hilarious.
Tantan says
😂🤣
Robert says
Second hand smoke can give you a positive. There is no proof to say otherwise. Had a buddy pop positive and he never smoked. They tested his backup sample and it was clean. So he didn’t get in trouble. Of course I was in the military then not a truck driver.
Paul Logan says
Doctors are very much AFRAID to proscribe drugs
Don’t you know we have a crisis? What can you take when the doctor refuses to give you Tylenol with codeine?
Les says
Yes there us a crisis states like California handing out heroin like it’s ice cream, yes there is a problem with heroin and fentynal flooding the streets in every city; but it is literally impossible to overdose on hydrocodone
Shar says
Oh, you got that right. I’d never have trusted that. But he can work to get his license back too. That court case could take much longer than working to get license back on your own. First thing, clear out your body.
MrYowler says
In general, you should not operate a motor vehicle on prescribed pain medications. Over-the-counter meds are, in general, okay. Aspirin and Tylenol are not drugs that alter your perceptions or thinking. CBD is supposed to be similarly effective against pain without being mind-altering.
Having a prescription may get you clear of the drug test, but ut does not make you fit to drive. While the drug is active in your system – prescription or no – you need to stay off the road. Maybe the guy tried CBD so that he could manage his pain without being forced to take time off work?
Jon says
Think about it. What hi power pain meds let you drive a truck & pass a drug test….0
He was desperate, this or quit driving. but does the industry standard drug test actually test for THC.? I doubt it,
“Marijuana metabolate”.
ANY marijuana incredient or related compound would be a fail.
Nathan Godfrey says
The rules have changed. Now it’s illegal to drive a truck with any kind of prescription pain meds. I was taking Norco for shoulder. Company knew it no problem. Then law change and had to get doctor to write letter saying he’ll write no more while I have a CDL.
Trandy Barnes says
He took over the counter medicine did anyone test the medication that he took or just going on what he said seems to me he’s on his own by taking a med that wasn’t prescribed by a doctor which if was prescribed by a doctor he would of had to show the prescription good luck with you case
MrYowler says
Every time you pop an aspirin, you are rolling those same dice, and hoping that the pill doesn’t contain anything else. Every Christmas party you go to, every pot-luck barbeque, you have to hope that the brownies and cookies and cakes and potato salad are clean. It’s waaaay too easy to fall afoul of this, and there is no sympathy for anyone who does. Sure; weed extract is available for recreational or medical use is some parts of the country, and some people choise to buy and use it. But what if I hate you, and I have some of this extract, and put it in your coffee? And then maybe tip off your boss that your next drug test won’t be clean? We won’t be seeing you at the next company barbeque…
Maybe he should have taken aspirin. And maybe we should be able to trust that the things we consume, are in fact what they claim – or appear – to be.
Maybe we all need to stop being so presumptuous and judgemental about what we think might have happened to cause a drug test to come up positive.
LorieJo says
I hope if the story is true that he does win a settlement.
I do believe though that he cannot get a job now because he did not complete the SAP program. He could add that to his lawsuit.
Josh says
Not for nothing, but the driver, and any other driver contemplating CBD as a pain relief alternative, should have researched CBD more in depth. All CBD has trace amounts of THC in it. It’s not enough for you to feel any effects from it, but it is enough to form a metabolite. Something like .3%, but still enough to cause issues in a strictly regulated career.
Martha Cast says
I am all for the legalization of marijuana. However something doesn’t add up here. I’ve said for years that cbd oil and “hemp” is the newest delusion when it comes to weed. Of course it has THC in it, duh! Also a legal prescription would go a long way in court with this kind of case, and finally, one failed drug test, right or wrong does not end your career unless you want it too, especially if you’re an o/o making 200K. Petition to take a drug class, take your slap on the wrist and go back to work, stoner.
Mark says
There is no such thing as a “legal prescription” for THC when you are a CDL driver.
Dan the man says
The only way he can win is to provide an unopened sample of the drug to a lab for testing and prove he didn’t get the drug in his system from somewhere else.
Jason Aho says
That was my thought exactly. Hindsight being 20/20, he should have had it tested before he tried it. It would be super easy for the defense in this litigation to say he smoked a joint and is falsely accusing the maker of the CBD.
If his story is, in fact, true, I hope that his termination could be reversed with no dings on his record.
Muhanned Elsayyid says
He should have whatever CBD he has left tested and certified
Ken says
He’s screwed like I said even if someone,does smoke and people try to blame 2nd hand smoke.the only way would to be locked in a room with so meany people smoking it would be unbearable for any one to be in the same room.and most likely you would pass.so don’t try that one
Robert says
Might be possible but it will still be on his DAC report
mousekiller says
If you knew the cost to have a drug or any thing else tested by a lab you would know why he probably didn’t have it tested. Many thousands of dollars even if it is only thimble size. If you work for a living you don’t have the money to do that. Not like on TV.
MrYowler says
How do you test it? Send it to a lab? Do labs even have some kind of standardized testing protocol for this? How much do you suppose that would have cost, and how long would he have had to continue to be in pain, waiting for the results?
It is virtually impossible to prove a negative. “I did not some weed.” If someone claims that you did, even a negative drug test can’t prove otherwise. And you have virtually no recourse against a positive test, because there is no way to prove a negative. So slip some if that recreational weed extract into the saline solution that your asshole boyfriend uses to clean his contacts, and watch him go down in flames. No one will believe him when he claims that he didn’t do it, and he won’t even know what hit him.
The great big deal that we make of this, makes us vulnerable. Yes, we don’t want people driving high. We also don’t want them driving drunk. But we make a lot less of a big deal about alcohol consumption. Now that weed is becoming legally accessible, too, it might be time to take another look at how big a deal we are making, of it.
Ken says
That’s why there’s a shortage of new drivers.most of the younger guys can’t pass one.heck all they had to do was set around get high.and live at home.
Shar says
Great point. No matter what, it will still follow him, but he can work to get his license back because I know 2 guys who’ve done it.
R.J. says
Bummer.
Shamus P. Cella says
The driver is screwed and has no case what so ever if based on the little info described in this post.
Susan says
I too tested positive for the same thing. My level was a .16. One point above the limit. The CB Store paid for the Sapp program and further testing. Thank God I was able to find a company right away that believes in second chances. I couldn’t find a lawyer willing to take the case. I hope he wins!
Tommy Molnar says
“he had almost double the allowable cut-off for a “marijuana metabolite”. I didn’t know there WAS an “allowable cut-off” for pot.
Andrew Signer says
There are “thresholds “ set at varying levels for varying tests. For instance a drug screen for CIA or FBI work would most likely have much lower threshold than one for a cable tv contractors position. Not all screens are created equal.
Shar says
Me neither.
virg says
Each drug tested for has a specific cutoff concentration level.
If under the cutoff level, it is released as “negative”
If at/over the cutoff level, it goes into secondary (confirmation) testing before being released as “positive”
Floyd says
Me either
Sarra says
I’m under the impression that cannabinoid oil has 3% THC, not zero. That’s why it works for pain, anxiety, sleep, etc. This guy must have thought he bought hemp oil, not CBD oil.
Jon says
Even industrial hemp has trace THC
Fred says
This should be a non issue. The govt has no business criminalizing canabis in the first place. Drug prohibition is nothing but a jobs program for law enforcement and the prison industrial complex. Trucking doesn’t pay enuogh to tell someone they cant smoke pot, anyways. 2 people living in a truck to gross 200k and net 100k? Its not worth it.
PLASE MOORE says
My parents always told me, if it sounds too good to be true, it not true!! Pain is something that will make a man do or say anything, as long as it stops. I severally cut my left fore arm in a industrial accident years ago, with pain 24/24. But i to being a trucker know, a drug test can get you in a lot of dutch for non prescribed drugs, lets just call all of it snake oil. He’s got a great law suit!!
shogun says
That’s why you always quit the job if you are going to test positive. Get clean and get another job. No trucking company will find it odd that you change jobs every 6 months, just like most drivers already do.
Les says
If you quit the job with a drug test request the lab WILL report you positive as a refusal and you will lose your CDL
Jeromy Hodges says
A product named “cannabidiol” and he had no clue cannabis may be involved somehow?
MrYowler says
The article gives the impression that he was inquisitive on this point, or that the product made it a marketing point. I imagine that’s the basis of his lawsuit. He would almost certainly have to show that a claim of safety was made, or some kind of guarantee was offered.
TexasJester says
Here’s another – those wonderful lemon poppy seed muffins! Don’t eat one then go for a drug test – you WILL pop positive!
In January, 2005, I was in orientation at Arrow. Safety folks brought in muffins, including lemon poppy seed. I got one, and saved it until AFTER I peed in the cup – three others didn’t, and got popped. I was able to convince Safety folks to retest them at the end of the week, and they did, and those three came back clean..
Mark says
That is the oldest myth in the book…and complete BS. Poppy seeds will NOT trigger a positive.
William o Rhem says
I agree with you somebody was smoking😂😂
James says
The poppy seed problem was proven on Myth Busters a few years ago. Everyone that ate anything with poppy seeds in it tested positive for opiates. I don’t risk ANYTHING that might cause a positive drug test!!! It’s just not worth it.
Brian says
Testing for thc will stop once the government removes thc from the schedule 1 drug list. It will be decriminalized and made legal.
Don says
We can only hope
MrYowler says
Probably not. That it is legal, does not mean that you are therefore employable. Employers will hansle this however the see fit, and the precedenr is already in place. Trucks will likely be automated, before the industry moves in the direction of tolerating pot the way that alcohol is presently tolerated.
18WheelsCountry says
I had the same thing happen and lost my Job after 16 years and all was said by seller was sorry and I am from a state that it is not legal. How did that happen? It really said “Virtually Zero THC”. Well, it showed positive on test and poof, gone.
Jazzy says
I sell CBD oil and it’s legal in all 50 states. I don’t sell from this company but I have drug test every 2 months and never failed for THC with my CBD oil. I think he will have to supply a unopened bottle from that company. My dr told me to add it to manage my pain daily. I do know it’s helped my anxiety and sugar because I come off those meds already
Ralph says
Who is not to say he smoked at some point. What we are suppose to believe this boy scout 100% blindly? SORRYbut it will moat likely be dropped
MrYowler says
Should we similarly disbelieve him 100% blindly? There is no way for him to prove that he didn’t smoke weed. For that matter, there is no eay for you to prove that you didn’t smoke weed, either – even a negative drug test doesn’t prove that.
We take positive drug tests as gospel, and continually retest negative ones, for the length of their employment (or suspicion) We have a great deal more faith in positive results than in negative ones. Why? Because we ASS-U-ME guilt over innocence, and we do that forever, no matter how many times we may fail to prove guilt.
Maybe he *did* smoke. Maybe he didn’t. Can you imagine how hard life we be, if we treated alcohol use the same way? Or made the same assumption of guilt in our legal system? Or in civil litigation? Everyone would be broke and in jail, all the time…
Give the man the benefit of the doubt. Clearly, he passed a drug test or two in his career. We’re not talking about an irredeemable pothead, here. We’re talking about a guy who failed one drug test in ten years. Is it more credible that he can’t keep the pipe out of his face, or that he tried a new product that screwed up his test results?
Mike Marc Dave says
He prob did smoke it thinking this would be a good excuse to get him out of it.
Jim Myers says
He will lose….I take CBD oil & no problems with any drug test….He smoked regular pot at some point up to 30 days before his drug test…Hes trying to pull off a scam & where I come from thats fraud & a crime….
Sara says
And we just waved goodbye sittin there on that there sack of seeds
Darren Ammons says
Like any other controlled substance, if you test positive for any opoloids you best have a legitimate Dr prescription. Which can be even more difficult since he is under federal guidelines.
David Collins says
Pain management companies are just another scam to get in your pocket.
realityville says
frivolous lawsuit, hope the judge laughs in his face and tosses it out.
Karen Kucera says
Wow. Some people need to be educated before commenting. Hemp, and Marijuana are two different plants, and NO one is not the male form of the other. Here’s how to visualize the difference, It’s like the the difference between a Beefsteak tomato plant and a cherry tomato plant. Both tomato’s but clearly very different strains, both bred for different purposes and qualities. Hemp has been grown and bred for years for the industrial world for many different applications. Due to it’s selective breeding it has naturally developed a lower amount of THC and a higher amount of CBD. It does contain both, but the THC can be removed from products being produced for consumption.
With the current boom of all things Marijuana or hemp related, many companies have popped up on the market that are taking shortcuts, not testing their products, not being truthful in the ingredients or the amount of said ingredients. Specifically the THC and CBD levels. Without doing research into the company and their products it is quite possible to be taking a CBD product that has high levels of THC.
At this time there are few known side effects of taking CBD products, part of their popularity, they don’t harm your liver, stomach or become habit forming such that you need to detox from them like many of the “prescribed” drugs, that many of you want this guy to take.
While the consumption of marijuana is becoming legal in many states it is still illegal in all of them to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of THC, just as it is to be under the influence of Alcohol, prescribed drugs or any substance that alters your level of consciousness. It’s unfortunate that this man was taking a product that may not have disclosed that it had THC in it. He should absolutely win his lawsuit if he can provide a sample of the product he was taking and that the label doesn’t disclose it’s ingredients.
SkinnerDiggs says
I know this girl who was called to take a drug test but, she just parked her truck in the company yard and went home without taking the test. They said she now had a failed test on her record and there are no retakes.
The last time she took a test they assigned a man to test her. He told her to leave the door open so he could observe. She was told by 3 different sources that they are allowed to do that. (after-the-fact).
After 5 years, she now has proof that it is illegal. They have to provide a female tester if they want to observe.
Of course, she got another job from a second-chance company. And she takes frequent observed drug tests. She has never failed so much as one and never will. That male tester should have be fired for that. But he probably still getting away with it. That was a Swift tester and she didn’t know it was illegal for him to do that.
Kevin Chevalier says
you guys still don’t get it! it doesn’t matter whether you think it’s right or wrong
it’s a choice and shouldn’t be left up to a bunch of fascism commies who want
to dictate what you can and can’t do, there used to be real reason for brewing
spirits (alcohol) you couldn’t trust the water not anymore now it’s there just to get shit faced (recreational) our forefathers had no problem guzzling booze on
a daily basis so why is this an issue? One of the reasons is because the fine
breweries of our nation seen cannabis as threat to their market so they paid huge sums of money to our for hire government to suppress it and they still do
the idiots who we hired to run our fine trusting establishment take bribes from
lobbyist like the insurance industry who’s reason’s are doobiest at best ( don’t
want to pay out claims) related to impairment or stupidity it’s all about the
money to hell with the people and their rights we can amend that to suit our
wallets, with truck drivers our biggest enemy is the insurance industry these
crooks not only steal your money then use it against you they paid their
puppets millions to mandate laws forcing us to buy their crooked policies to
cover their asses only in america Lol!! we the people are nothing more than
sheep to be sheared, they say these laws are to protect us Lol!!!! from the
predators among the flock (DOT fleasing drivers) with hate organizations such
as M.A.F.D. and CRASH whos paid statistics lobby against you the driver your
a incompetent idiot who needs control over every aspect of your freedom
because you drive a truck ( that includes what you do when off duty) it may not
be obvious but it’s there, trucking is the hub of ALL TRANSPORTATION they
rely on us completely to support rail, ship, air transports think about it
Anthony Hagerty says
you saying that it does not happen from second hand smoke is wrong i have not used in over 2 years and they tried telling me i have used in the last three months i say stay away from anywhere there may be any kind off use
DonM says
The Driver should try and work a reinstatement deal with the safety department.
Maybe stay off the CBD for 30 days and retest.
With a good employment history they should be willing to work with him under the circumstances.
Angel says
I have a similar story, except I refused to play the victim and paid for the SAP program and completed it and went back to work. There are a lot of companies out there that will hire you after failed DOT drug screens. I’m a success story. Although I have little sympathy, I’m curious to how this play out. I knew it would happen one day.
Old Wizard says
A good lawyer will get this thrown out. He WAS NOT terminated for failing the drug test. He was terminated for violating company policy. The federal regulations state that the driver has to see an SAP and be removed from performing any safety sensitive duties until a time that the driver is released by the SAP.
The company terminates you for violating company policy on drug use. It is not required that they terminate the driver.
Marijuana will stay in your system for 6-8 weeks for a heavy smoker.
And don’t waste your time with the “second hand smoke” excuse. The medical examiner will tell you straight out that you don’t get enough THC in your system to register on the test without ingesting it in some form.
And before anyone argues with me I suggest you do some homework.
Daniel says
It’s going to get worse if what I read is true, because they just legalized marijuana here and the test for it is something like 4ng or something crazy sensitive. The standard test is 50ng/mL and some labs use 20ng/mL.
Every time I inhale a puff of pot smoke from some f*face motorist, I wonder if I will fail the test. I just think to myself, I smoke weed for 10-years straight; I have not for the last 10-years. When I inhale someone’s second-hand marijuana smoke, my senses start blitzing. I must be hyper-sensitive to it because I smoked it in the past for so long.
If anyone knows, isn’t 4 nanograms per milliliter really insane?
Eddie says
It’s this guy’s fault he is responsible for what he puts in his body… He knows the rules he is a truck driver…I am a truck driver and I have no prob with weed but bc I drive trucks I don’t do it…I deal with constant pain even thought about cbl oil…I googled some questions… Was informed not 100 percent sure cbl will not cause a positive…I didn’t take CBD oil… Simply…. Five minutes on Google… Lazy trucker
Ann Griffith says
I looked at the companies CBD products. They are ALL Full Spectrum, which means they contain THC! I think he thought it was hemp with low THC so he could pass Urine tests. The answer is 75% of the time you will fail!! Don’t risk it.