Positive professional driver drug tests rose about 13% January through August, reports the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
The test results also showed increases in all three of the top drug use categories – marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines – with the overwhelming majority of the positive tests being for marijuana.
It was reported that for the first eight months of 2021, compared to the same period last year, the total number of marijuana test findings were 21,438, up from 18,252 last year.
Cocaine results totaled 5,913, up from 5,233, while methamphetamines were 3,526, up from 3,379. FMCSA reported that results for all 14 drug panels were 39,785, up from 35,252.
Since the clearinghouse went into effect on January 6, 2020, the number of positive driver drug tests has reached 95,740, with positive marijuana drug tests accounting for more than 53% of the 14 different drug panels tested.
The monthly report also found that 87,438 drivers had at least one drug or alcohol violation as of August 2021, but only 17,501 drivers had returned to “not-prohibited from driving status” after passing return-to-duty tests, leaving just under 70,000 drivers remaining in the prohibited from driving status after they earlier tested positive.
The low numbers of drivers who are pursuing programs that will allow them to get back behind the wheel raises concerns at a time when the truck driver shortage is worsening.
Also concerning is the increasing use of marijuana after the passage of state laws in recent years that lessened or eliminated legal penalties. For example, a study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and released in June found crash rates spiked after recreational marijuana use was legalized in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington State.