The NTSB Voices Concerns Over Proposed Marijuana Downgrade
Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recently raised alarms with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding a proposed rule to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The NTSB’s main concern is that this reclassification could jeopardize federally mandated drug testing for individuals in safety-sensitive positions such as truck drivers, airline pilots, and others.
On July 23, the NTSB made its concerns public, emphasizing that this proposed change might prevent continued federally required testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees for marijuana use. Currently, laboratories certified by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are not authorized to test for Schedule III controlled substances, which includes the potential new classification for marijuana.
This feedback from the NTSB comes in response to the DEA’s proposal published in the Federal Register on May 21. The NTSB urged the DEA to ensure that any final decision to reschedule marijuana does not undermine the existing marijuana testing protocols under the Department of Transportation (DOT) and HHS guidelines for safety-sensitive transportation employees.
The DEA’s proposal has already garnered nearly 43,000 comments, with the American Trucking Associations among those expressing concern that drug testing for commercial truck drivers could be eliminated if the rule is implemented. The DEA has yet to respond to these concerns.
According to the NTSB, the employees most affected by this proposal include airline pilots, maintenance workers, bus and truck drivers, locomotive engineers, subway train operators, ship captains, pipeline operators, hazardous materials transporters, air traffic controllers, and others.
Despite the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana use in many states, truck drivers are still prohibited from using it and face immediate termination if they test positive. The NTSB warns that reclassifying marijuana without measures to maintain its testing in pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident scenarios would create a significant safety blind spot.
“Removing marijuana testing from DOT and HHS drug testing panels for safety-sensitive transportation employees would strip away a layer of safety oversight that employers have managed for decades, and it would prevent these tests from acting as a deterrent to marijuana use by these employees,” stated the NTSB. “Additionally, the NTSB would lose access to DOT and federal workplace marijuana test results as evidence in our investigations.”
The NTSB also expressed broader concerns about the potential transportation safety impacts of marijuana rescheduling, which could affect everyone interacting with transportation systems, from vehicle operators and passengers to pedestrians and bystanders. The agency stressed the importance of diligent consideration of scientific evidence and expert insights to anticipate and mitigate transportation safety risks associated with rescheduling marijuana.
In their statement, the NTSB highlighted the importance of DEA thoroughly examining transportation safety issues when evaluating the public health risks of marijuana and considering the human and economic costs of the proposed rescheduling action.
In its investigations, the NTSB has frequently identified toxicological evidence of marijuana use by both noncommercial and commercial vehicle operators. The agency relies on DOT drug testing data to evaluate the safety practices of transportation employers involved in its investigations. Established scientific evidence shows that marijuana impairs necessary abilities for safe vehicle operation and other safety-related tasks, including reaction time, perception, sustained attention, planning, decision-making, and risk assessment.
Post-accident and post-incident drug testing data from DOT and federal workplace tests provide critical information about the use of potentially impairing drugs by individuals whose performance may have contributed to accidents or incidents.
As the debate over marijuana reclassification continues, the NTSB remains steadfast in its position that maintaining rigorous drug testing for safety-sensitive transportation employees is crucial for ensuring the safety of our transportation systems.