WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, released a letter urging the Department of Transportation to reform and modernize cannabis testing requirements for commercial truck drivers. In the past two years, tens of thousands of commercial drivers have been forced out of the profession not because they are impaired on the job, but because imprecise testing practices trigger penalties for use of state-legal medical or adult-use cannabis in the days or weeks prior to testing.
“As the United States faces an unprecedented supply chain crisis, tens of thousands of commercial drivers are being disqualified from service due to past cannabis use. These disqualifications deny people the right to earn a living, reduce the workforce when drivers are desperately needed, and penalize people of color and patients who legally use medical cannabis,” Blumenauer wrote. “This crisis must be treated with urgency. Your department should rapidly reform requirements for testing drivers and returning them to service, as well as develop an accurate test for impairment.”
Read the full letter here.