ATA Seeks DOT Clarity on Proposed Marijuana Reclassification
[Stay on top of transportation news: .]
has asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to provide clarity on a long-pending federal proposal to reclassify marijuana as a less harmful drug, a move ATA has opposed due to safety concerns centered on driver impairment.
ATA Chief Operating Officer Dan Horvath in a two-page Aug. 14 letter reaffirmed ATA’s commitment to work with USDOT and all stakeholders on strategies to prevent marijuana-related crashes and fatalities.
He stressed ATA has no formal policy on legalization of marijuana; rather, Horvath said, ATA is “deeply concerned about the safety risks of rescheduling marijuana without explicit safeguards to preserve the necessary testing authority and technical requirements for DOT-regulated safety-sensitive workers.”
RELATED: Supreme Court Sides With Truck Driver in CBD Oil Case
The Trump administration has indicated it may take action on the unresolved proposal from the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana from the most serious category of federal drug offenses to a lesser category. The proposal was introduced during the Biden administration.
“We appreciate your commitment to evidence-based safety policies and the vitality of the trucking industry as well as your willingness to engage on issues that affect both our workforce and the traveling public,” Horvath wrote.
In particular, Horvath sought clarity on whether DOT would retain the authority and capability to test for marijuana use by commercial motor vehicle drivers and other safety-sensitive transportation workers should the reclassification move forward. Horvath noted these concerns were raised with previous DOT leadership in personal discussions and letters, but no resolution occurred.
“In congressional testimony, then-Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that DOT believed testing for regulated safety-sensitive transportation workers would not be affected by rescheduling,” Horvath wrote. “However, ATA never received a response to our correspondence explaining the basis for this position or detailing how DOT intended to address any impacts to the program.”
He warned that a gap in federal agency testing authority could create risks and possible roadway safety issues.
ǰٳ
“In the trucking industry alone, marijuana accounts for roughly 60% of all positive employer drug tests reported to the [ Drug & Alcohol] since 2020. The National Transportation Safety Board has found marijuana to be one of the most frequently detected substances in impaired driving crashes resulting in serious or fatal injuries,” he stated in the letter.
A 2023 study linked legalizing recreational marijuana with an average increase of 2.2 traffic fatalities per billion miles driven or over 1,000 additional deaths yearly and higher rates in states that legalized marijuana earlier, the letter noted.
The letter also pointed out several fatal crashes where marijuana was a factor:
- Seven people died in Indiana in a 2023 crash involving a truck driver with marijuana in his system.
- Two Texas fatalities were linked to a cement truck driver who admitted using marijuana the night before crossing into oncoming traffic before hitting a school bus — killing a child and the driver.
- An NTSB finding that marijuana impairment caused a crash in a 2022 collision in Oklahoma that killed six teenagers.
“Without the deterrent and detection power of marijuana testing, such preventable tragedies will only become more frequent,” Horvath wrote. “Given the heightened public attention to marijuana policy and the possibility of a federal rescheduling of marijuana in the near term, we are requesting clarity on DOT’s plans to address such a change.”
He also urged DOT to initiate coordination with the Department of Justice — which has oversight of DEA — and the Department of Health and Human Services as well as relevant lawmakers to ensure “any federal policy shift preserves the authority, tools and technical capacity necessary to continue testing DOT-regulated safety-sensitive workers.”
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing belowor go here for more info:
