{"id":53053,"date":"2022-02-18T09:36:19","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T17:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/02\/18\/wells-fargo-analyst-says-federal-marijuana-testing-mandate-to-blame-for-trucker-shortages-and-rising-costs\/"},"modified":"2022-02-18T13:45:53","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T21:45:53","slug":"wells-fargo-analyst-says-federal-marijuana-testing-mandate-to-blame-for-trucker-shortages-and-rising-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/02\/18\/wells-fargo-analyst-says-federal-marijuana-testing-mandate-to-blame-for-trucker-shortages-and-rising-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Wells Fargo Analyst Says Federal Marijuana Testing Mandate To Blame For Trucker Shortages And Rising Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

A top Wells Fargo analyst says that there\u2019s one main reason for rising costs and worker shortages in the transportation sector: federal marijuana criminalization and resulting drug testing mandates that persist even as more states enact legalization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Harvey, who serves as head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo Securities, addressed the issue during a conference call on Wednesday. He proactively brought up the challenges associated with cannabis testing in the trucking industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve listened to one conference call or a thousand conference calls, what have you heard? Logistics, transportation costs, trucker costs all going higher and that\u2019s going to continue to occur,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the reason being is very simple. And some of you know this and some, this may be new,\u201d Harvey continued on the call, which was first noted by CNBC\u2019s Carl Quintanilla . \u201cIt\u2019s really about drug testing. We\u2019ve legalized marijuana in some states but, obviously, not all but some. And what you have as a trucker is you have a federal mandate for drug testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The #1 reason for the trucker shortage, according to a Wells Fargo conference call: marijuana testing.$MSOS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iuvGrbrSf2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) February 16, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Federal transportation law stipulates that safety sensitive jobs like trucking require drug testing policies. But while advocates and opponents of legalization agree that nobody should be operating a 16-wheeler while intoxicated, the problem is that THC metabolites can be detectable in a person\u2019s system for weeks after they\u2019ve consumed.<\/p>\n

Because of the mandate for truckers, \u201cwe\u2019re excluding a significant portion of that trucker industry,\u201d Harvey said. \u201cAnd so, it\u2019s going to make a very tight market even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Backing up that point, The New York Post reported<\/a> last year that more than 72,000 truck drivers were taken off the roads since January 2020 due to positive THC tests.<\/p>\n

The financial executive isn\u2019t the only one talking about the relationship between workforce shortages and marijuana policy.<\/p>\n

For example, a congressman suggested last week that one way to help resolve the significant staffing problems at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would be to federally legalize marijuana so that government employees stop losing their jobs for using it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Federal prohibition and strict drug testing policies within government agencies have arguably had a chilling effect on employment, preventing qualified people from applying for certain jobs and putting current federal workers in jeopardy of losing their jobs if they consume a product that\u2019s increasingly legal in states across the country.<\/p>\n

The problem spans from government to private industry, prompting even some of the largest companies in the U.S. to reevaluate their drug testing policies amid the legalization movement.<\/p>\n

Amazon has worked to adapt to changing marijuana policies internally as it\u2019s backed congressional reform, enacting an employment policy change last year to\u00a0end pre-employment drug testing for cannabis<\/a> for most workers, for example.<\/p>\n

However, it stipulated that the company will \u201cno longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation<\/em>.\u201d (Emphasis added.)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the director of national intelligence (DNI) said in a recent memo that federal employers\u00a0shouldn\u2019t outright reject security clearance applicants<\/a>\u00a0over past marijuana use and should use discretion when it comes to those with cannabis investments in their stock portfolios.<\/p>\n

The FBI updated its hiring policies last year to make it so candidates are only automatically disqualified from joining the agency if they\u00a0admit to having used marijuana within one year<\/a>\u00a0of applying. Previously, prospective employees of the agency could not have used cannabis within the past three years.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s since\u00a0further revised the policy to add a stipulation<\/a>\u00a0that applicants are ineligible if they\u2019ve used cannabis more than 24 times after turning 18.<\/p>\n

Then-FBI Director James Comey suggested in 2014 that he wanted to\u00a0loosen the agency\u2019s employment policies as it concerns marijuana<\/a>, as potential skilled workers were being passed over due to the requirement.<\/p>\n

The federal legalization of hemp has also prompted several agencies to update their employment policies.<\/p>\n

The Department of Defense, for example, made clear that\u00a0CBD is off limits for service members<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Air Force\u00a0issued a notice<\/a>\u00a0in 2019 stipulating that its\u00a0members are prohibited from using the compound.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Navy told its ranks that\u00a0they\u2019re barred from using CBD<\/a>\u00a0regardless of its legal status.<\/p>\n

And the Coast Guard said in 2019 that\u00a0sailors can\u2019t use marijuana<\/a>\u00a0or visit state-legal dispensaries.<\/p>\n

NASA said that CBD products\u00a0could contain unauthorized THC concentrations<\/a>\u00a0that could jeopardize jobs if employees fail a drug test.<\/p>\n

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration\u00a0issued guidance to federal agency drug program coordinators<\/a>\u00a0in 2019, expressing concern about excess THC in CBD products, which seems to have prompted the various departments to clarify their rules.<\/p>\n

The Department of Transportation took a different approach in 2020, stating in a notice that\u00a0it would not be testing drivers for CBD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For its part, the Drug Enforcement Administration continues to enforce its policy of automatically disqualifying applicants who\u2019ve used marijuana in the prior three years before applying.<\/p>\n

And while the Biden administration has instituted a policy of\u00a0granting waivers to certain workers<\/a>\u00a0who admit to prior cannabis use, it\u2019s come under fire from advocates following reports that it fired or otherwise punished dozens of staffers who were honest about their history with marijuana.<\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has previously\u00a0attempted to minimize the fallout<\/a>, without much success, and her office released a statement in March stipulating that\u00a0nobody was fired for \u201cmarijuana usage from years ago,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0nor has anyone been terminated \u201cdue to casual or infrequent use during the prior 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

A powerful congressional committee\u00a0released a report over the summer<\/a>\u00a0that urges federal agencies to reconsider policies that result in the firing of employees who use marijuana legally in accordance with state law.<\/p>\n

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Marijuana Legalization Bill Heads To Delaware House Floor Following Second Committee Approval<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Image courtesy of blinkend from Pixabay<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Wells Fargo Analyst Says Federal Marijuana Testing Mandate To Blame For Trucker Shortages And Rising Costs<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: Wells Fargo Analyst Says Federal Marijuana Testing Mandate To Blame For Trucker Shortages And Rising Costs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A top Wells Fargo analyst says that there\u2019s one main reason for rising costs and worker shortages in the transportation sector: federal marijuana criminalization and resulting drug testing mandates that persist even as more states enact legalization. Chris Harvey, who serves as head of equity strategy at Wells Fargo Securities,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1335,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53053"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53053\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53054,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53053\/revisions\/53054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}