Marijuana Rescheduling, Commercial Driver's License, and Testing Standards

Currently the Department of Health and Human services sets drug testing guidelines for the Department of Transportation. These guidelines authorize testing for Schedule I and Schedule II controlled substances. If marijuana is rescheduled to Schedule III, it will no longer be included in mandatory drug tests, and “DOT would have no legal basis to require testing.”

“Through April 2025, there have been 184,839 positive marijuana tests recorded since the database launched in 2020. That represents 59% of all substances identified in positive drug tests. In 2024 alone, 34,936 CDL holders tested positive for delta-9 THC metabolite.”

The author of the article strongly recommends that employers of truck drivers institute their own company testing policy in addition to testing required by DOT. The author notes, “if the federal testing authority disappears, carriers with robust company policies will still have tools. Carriers relying solely on federal requirements will have nothing.” The author also advocates for a supplemental Executive Order that explicitly grants HHS the authority to test for all controlled substances, including Schedule III substances. The article notes that most carriers will want to maintain a marijuana testing policy in part because insurers and shippers will require it.

The article also addresses the “unsolved impairment problem.” Marijuana drug tests can test for prior use but not for impairment. “The NTSB has been requesting research into marijuana impairment standards for years. Congress has expressed interest. The technology doesn’t exist yet. Until it does, carriers and regulators face an impossible choice: Test for detection (which catches some drivers who aren’t impaired) or don’t test at all (which fails to catch drivers who are). Given what we know about marijuana-involved crashes, the safety calculus favors continued testing.”

Author: Bob Carpenter

Read full article Will Marijuana Rescheduling Be A Game Changer For Trucking? on Freight Waves.

Download PDF