The Trump administration moved to federally reclassify medical marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug final month, making medical marijuana use federally authorized. Sadly for a few of the hardest working People, although, the change is not going to have an effect on them. The Division of Transportation clarified in a brand new discover yesterday that federally regulated staff who’re topic to drug testing like truck drivers and airline pilots are nonetheless not permitted to eat the satan’s lettuce, whether or not it is prescribed by a physician or in any other case.
The discover is aimed toward Medical Evaluate Officers or MROs, who evaluate drug screening outcomes for federal workers. It says, “Presently, there is no such thing as a occasion when the MRO might confirm a laboratory-confirmed marijuana optimistic drug take a look at consequence as ‘damaging’ when an worker claims the optimistic was brought on by a State licensed marijuana product.” To be clear: even after rescheduling, weed just isn’t an FDA-approved drug, thus it isn’t permitted to point out up on drug exams for workers in security delicate transportation roles.
The DOT’s marijuana take a look at necessities determine marijuana by title, not by classification
A part of the problem is verbiage that, based on Marijuana Second, “for industrial truckers… the division particularly lists marijuana as substance to display.” This limitation doesn’t criminalize the consumption of marijuana, it solely signifies that staff who’re topic to sure DOT restrictions will proceed to be topic to screening for marijuana, and in the event that they take a look at optimistic, they fail their drug screening.
Based on the DOT doc, “A “professional medical clarification” requires use of a legally prescribed managed substance in compliance with Federal legal guidelines governing such a prescription. 49 CFR §§ 40.137(a); 40.141(b). Marijuana use underneath State marijuana packages or different non-prescription sources don’t qualify as a “professional medical clarification” underneath 49 CFR § 40.137(a). As well as, marijuana use just isn’t suitable with safety-sensitive features.”
As a counter to the restriction, Marijuana Second factors out that “hashish metabolites can keep in an individual’s system for weeks after use and nonetheless be detected on drug exams even when there is no such thing as a impairment.” That is unhealthy information for people in security delicate roles who had been hoping to swap their prescription opiate painkillers for a plant-based different, although it is best to know that folk aren’t flying industrial planes underneath the affect.
