The trucking industry is unlike any other. With drivers required to maintain focus on the road at all times, DOT and individual companies are extremely careful with drug policies to maintain safe driving on the road.
Even a single positive drug test will usually cause a driver to be fired and go through an SAP program, or a Substance Abuse Program. Whiteline Express, for example, is zero tolerance.
Because of this, one would assume that failed drug tests are not that common in the trucking industry. That assumption is dead wrong.
Failed marijuana tests are becoming a huge issue in the trucking industry
Quest Diagnostics recently released a report showing how common positive marijuana drug tests were in the trucking industry. The numbers were. . . jarring.
Since 2020, there have been over 100,000 positive tests in the industry. Each year, the number has risen and continues to rise, with over 9,000 through March of 2023.
Marijuana isn’t the only drug coming up on tests though. Since 2020, there have been over 30,000 positive cocaine tests and over 16,000 positive tests for methamphetamines.
Perhaps the positive marijuana tests are a result of the legalization of the drug throughout certain states in the US. Regardless, it’s becoming a huge problem, with some drivers struggling to maintain a job without a failed test. The numbers are as clear as day.