U.S. Transportation Department Vows To Enforce Pot Ban Despite State Laws
Recently, some states passed initiatives to permit use of marijuana for so-called “recreational” purposes.
We have had several inquiries about whether these state initiatives will have an impact upon the Department of Transportation’s longstanding regulation about the use of marijuana by safety‐sensitive transportation employees – pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, subway operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, transit fire‐armed security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.
We want to make it perfectly clear that the state initiatives will have no bearing on the Department of Transportation’s regulated drug testing program. The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation – 49 CFR Part 40 – does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason.
Therefore, Medical Review Officers (MROs) will not verify a drug test as negative based upon learning that the employee used “recreational marijuana” when states have passed “recreational marijuana” initiatives.
We also firmly reiterate that an MRO will not verify a drug test negative based upon information that a physician recommended that the employee use “medical marijuana” when states have passed “medical marijuana” initiatives.
It is important to note that marijuana remains a drug listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. It remains unacceptable for any safety‐sensitive employee subject to drug testing under the Department of Transportation’s drug testing regulations to use marijuana.
We want to assure the traveling public that our transportation system is the safest it can possibly be.
Jim L. Swart
Director
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance
Department of Transportation
December 3, 2012
(H/T: Joe Reed)
Source: U.S. DOT. Read full article. (link)
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Please refrain from partaking in legal activities while you are working on your government job.
Signed,
Buzz Killington, Director of the Office of Balls Suckery.
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Studies have shown marijuana users are Safer Drivers than either drunk drivers, or sober ones.
http://blogs.lawyers.com/2012/.....k-driving/ -
Is Driving High on Marijuana Safer Than Driving Drunk? [ or driving sober?!! ]
For decades, marijuana advocates have argued that pot has a significantly different effect on driving ability than alcohol. But if you take the word of one auto insurance company, stoned is actually the safest way to drive. 4AutoinsuranceQuote.org is making that case based on years’ worth of scientific studies, including some from the US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration that found motorists under the influence of marijuana tended to drive slower and have accident responsibility rates lower than those of drug-free drivers.
http://blogs.lawyers.com/2012/.....k-driving/ -
Keep at it Dept. of Transportation. This stuff is not a boon, it should barely be a privilege let alone a right, and it's just going to bring more trouble to an America already afflicted with countless destructive addictions. My friend, an Idaho personal injury lawyer told me about this, and I was really glad to hear it. Stick it out!