THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

The federal government doesn't want truckers to smoke pot. The federal government has no reliable way to determine if a trucker has been smoking pot. And there is no reporting system if they do catch you. What's a government to do ?

The federal government has been trying for three years to figure out a way to test truck drivers for drug use on the job. Experts estimate it will take another three years for any guidelines to be in place.

The government’s plan would test hair follicles. The trucking industry is eager for some kind of enhanced test, fearing that as more states make marijuana use legal, the need grows for identifying drug-using drivers.

Truck drivers are subject to certain federal standards. Drivers are currently required by the Department of Transportation to submit to pre-employment and random urine-based drug testing throughout their careers. Currently a company is required to randomly drug test 10 percent of its drivers every year.

Some larger trucking companies have for years called the DOT’s urine tests ineffective and have opted to test employees by examining hair samples for traces of illegal substances. Employees who fail a hair test can be denied employment, but because of a lack of federal guidelines they can’t be reported to the DOT.

In 2015, President Barack Obama signed a law which mandated that the DOT and other federal agencies put together comprehensive hair testing guidelines by December 2016.

But the guidelines are still awaiting federal approval, a process that could take another three years, according to Kidd and other industry experts.

It’s not clear why the process has taken so long.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the federal agency which is supposed to help author the guidelines, just approved and forwarded on its version of the guidelines to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget earlier this month. A spokesperson for Health and Human Services declined to provide further detail.

Nobody wants a fully baked driver pushing a fully loaded rig at highway speeds. Neither do we want to break someone's rice bowl over a false test reading. And what level is actually impairing driving and what is a residual element left over from a trucker's well earned down time? Without good science, the answers will come down to someone's pre-conceived notions.