Why so many questions about drugs, drug tests and criminal convictions?

Cannabis is not legal under Federal Law, it is a Schedule One Drug, as such automatically DQ's any CDL holder. Trucking is Federally Regulated.

The states can bleat all they want and try to hold Cannabis legal. However the Federal holds the power to go into the states and overthrow this industry should they choose to.

There are increasing posts from People who intend to smoke or otherwise use Cannabis while driving a 18 wheeler. (Or any vehicle risking DUI which is what they will recieve should they be stopped and evaluated roadside and later by blood draw at the local and state level. The one defense to prosecution roadside would be a medical Pot card and a very limited amount in a issued prescribed bottle under a script easily tracked to a lawful doctor taking care of that person. That will never happen in a CDL Commercial Vehicle. Because again it is a Schedule One Drug and all CDL drivers are DQ'ed while possessing or having it inside them.

I totally recall the alcohol and other substances myself, drinking and running a big truck in days of the class A prior to the CDL Laws and introduction of drug testing (And by extension alcohol testing etc) had a culture in which we did what we pleased regardless of our station in life prior to 1990.

There is only one solution to the drug question in CDL Trucking and that is a total and complete removal from Schedule one of Cannabis by the Federal Government through revelant legislative, executive and other actions to follow by the FDA and so forth. If Cannabis is totally deregulated and it falls to the states under the consitutional powers that provide that anything not expressly given to Federal Governance would thus fall to the States themselves to govern as they please..

Then in result would be a situation in which some CDL drivers will be legal to have rec pot in states that allow it, medical pot with card in states that allow it and not legal in states that dont allow a #### thing. Such as what we do with weapons today. Arkansas you can carry and use anything availible on the non military market while Maryland expressly bans certain weapons and Jersey hollow point ammo and NY State anything with more than 10 rounds. (Never mind that I can reload 4 magazines in the time it takes for anyone to empty a 30 round happy stick 9mm at the range in my colt.)

Follow me so far?

One of the things we did get taught when young and new to trucking is "Don't get caught" meaning if you go party with drugs and drinking etc get sober and not be screwed up to drive when it's time for you to run a load somewhere in a big truck. Under today's laws during the early 2018 one could argue that in 1980 I drove a 18 wheeler drunken. Who knows. There was nothing much in the 80's The Nation has been changed after 1991 with the new CDL laws and the evolution of drug testing and alcohol etc.

It has gotten to where now we are including prescription drugs of any kind for pain. if it is a Narcotic or alters the mind crossing the blood brain barrier, they are reaching even down to the OTC stuff that carry active drugs in small amounts capable of causing a car driver to be taken to jail for suspected DUI pending blood draw and tests. Indeed people have been convicted of DUI after taking Tylenol PM last month within 20 hours of actually driving a motor vehicle. Now Immodium AD is pending to be removed because millions suffering withdrawals as a result of collective Government Enforcement against the war on not just drugs but also abuse of prescription drugs have discovered that substance OTC to be very useful as it once included a Schedule 5 drug from the 70's that bind to your Opiate Receptors.

Nothing I have written in this post or repeated from previous posts can be argued against. it is fact as it stands today.

What is left? Oh yea. The apparent problem when people post to TTR saying that they failed a drug test, or they do drugs and whatever it is that impacts the ability to lawfully drive a 18 wheeler. (Insert whatever reason usually based on it's LEGAL in whatever state they are from...) Indeed they are 21 years old and never had existed in a Society before they were born in which there was actually anything like Pot and so forth to be not only Legal for rec use in some states, but also a medicine in others.

Arkansas passed a medical pot law last year. The first dispensaries will open early 2019 at the latest. Anyone with a POT Card will not be able to have weapons at home and will lose the concealed carry licenses as well. Whatever weapons they have will be taken and melted down. No ifs buts or maybes. There is also a possible enforcement should they continue to hold a CDL license and maintain a medical card saying they can drive a big truck in commerce. Who is not to say Arkansas will decide if anyone sick enough to need a Pot Card but yet holds a CDL and valid DOT Medical card, that too will be stripped out of them once the appropriate legislative session convenes in 2019 for making Law. (We keep biannual Law sessons while the other set of years focus on the budget laws)

That would be my future sight, people posting to TTR by 2020 saying they lost the CDL, Lost the DOT Medical card by Arkansas as a example because now they hold a Medical pot card and take Pot legally.

You just cannot have the cake and eat it too. Anything else is more of the round and round which is endless with this subject.