During a June 27 congressional hearing, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that his agency believes a recent Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) proposal to reschedule marijuana will not directly affect the trucking industry’s ability to drug test drivers.
United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
During a recent hearing of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Congressmember Rick Crawford (R-AK) asked about the DEA’s proposal to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act.
“The rescheduling and deregulation of marijuana would inevitably cause a number of people driving impaired while high,” said Crawford. “Mr. Secretary, I think it’s safe to assume the number of all impaired drivers on our roadways would increase. Can you speak to what your department is doing to ensure the transportation workers in safety-reliant positions can continue to be tested for marijuana use if this proposal goes forward and how your department plans to address transportation safety in light of DOJ’s rulemaking?”
Buttigieg responded that “any impaired driving, be it alcohol, marijuana or any other sources of impairment, is of course a major safety concern. Our understanding of the rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III is that it would not alter DOT’s marijuana testing requirements with respect to the regulated community, for private individuals who are performing safety-sensitive functions subject to drug testing.
“Marijuana is referred to by name, not by reference to one of those classes, so even if it moves in its classification, we do not believe it would have a direct impact on that authority,” he said. “We’re continuing to evaluate any indirect impacts it might have.”
