Trucking is facing a new reefer madness
There are other ways to make the roads safer than targeting marijuana smoking
Hello Modesians!
You may have noticed I was sadly not Modesing it up last week. I was just busy!
But I’ve got a hot one for you this week: an argument on why the trucking industry’s new drug and alcohol clearinghouse isn’t going to make the nation’s highways much safer. Instead, it’s just going to drive more people out of the industry.
Marijuana is still federally classified as a Schedule I drug. But forcing truck drivers to abstain from it completely is an antiquated position. Some 68% of Americans believe marijuana should be fully legal, and 70% believe consuming it is morally acceptable. Weed is recreationally legal in 18 states plus Washington, D.C., and most states have legalized it for medical purposes.
Oh, and the White Whale of all trucking recruiters (those under 30) love weed; 22% said in 2020 that they consume it.
It’s all a shocking hypocrisy for an industry that famously calls refrigerated trailers “reefers.” Oh, cruel world!
Give it a read, and send me some fan, hate, or totally neutral mail at rpremack@insider.com.
