The U.S. Division of Transportation (DOT) has finalized a rule to amend its drug testing policy in a method that might have important implications for truckers, industrial drivers, pilots and different federally regulated transit employees who use marijuana off the job.
In a notice final Tuesday, the division mentioned that it has accomplished the rulemaking course of for the coverage change, which might permit oral saliva drug testing as a substitute for urine-based exams.
Urine exams for THC are notoriously unreliable as metabolites can present up for weeks or months after consumption. Stated exams typically end in false optimistic outcomes for people who find themselves not truly impaired on the job, however have consumed on their free time. These ‘false positives’ are noteworthy as a result of the DOT knowledge launched in January confirmed that tens of hundreds of economic truckers have examined optimistic for marijuana as a part of federally mandated screenings and a good portion of these truckers refused to return to work, contributing to a labor scarcity.
Accordingly, DOT proposed final 12 months that testing of oral saliva be added as an alternate choice. Following a public remark interval, the DOT finalized the oral saliva testing rule, which is able to take impact on June 1.
Relying on frequency of use, THC is mostly detectable in saliva wherever from one (1) to 24 hours after use, in line with DOT. Of their launch, the DOT mentioned that “Oral fluid testing can detect the current use of some medicine, together with marijuana and cocaine, whereas urine drug testing has an extended window of detection.”
Moreover, DOT’s finalized rule units a 4 nanogram per milliliter screening take a look at cutoff for THC, in order that it will not solely detect THC however would additionally remove the chances of optimistic exams ensuing from passive publicity.
It is going to be attention-grabbing to see if the native, metropolis and state legislation enforcement businesses start using these testing strategies to find out if drivers are impaired and/or underneath the affect of THC.