Trucking group calls for safety-oriented policies regarding legalized marijuana

Arlington, VA — The American Trucking Associations is calling on state and federal governments to consider the impact of legalized marijuana on roadway safety, in a new set of policies and recommendations endorsed by the organization.

Currently, recreational marijuana use is legal in 11 states, while 33 have legalized marijuana for medicinal use. Aimed at helping the trucking industry safely operate in these states, the new policies and recommendations:

• Call on governments to maintain the right of employers to test for marijuana if they determine that use could adversely affect safety.
• Support lifting the federal restrictions on marijuana research and call for more research into marijuana’s impact on impairment, especially in conjunction with other substances.
• Back the development of oral fluid testing and impairment standards.
• Call for the creation of a marijuana victim’s compensation fund – paid for by dispensaries, cultivators and manufacturers.

“[These policies] allow us to, while recognizing the modern world is changing, advocate for strong, safety-oriented policies backed by sound science and data,” ATA President and CEO Chris Spear said in an Oct. 8 press release.

Previously, ATA has introduced policies calling on government to allow alternative drug testing methods, create a national database of positive drug and alcohol test results, and enact and enforce anti-impairment driving laws.