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| Safety & Health News |
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| NRMCA Conducts Survey on CBD Oil Usage |
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The effects of specific drugs on driving skills differ depending on how they act in the brain. Marijuana (cannabis) has more than 100 active chemical components. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the component that causes the “high” in marijuana consumption. Cannabidiol or CBD is the second most prevalent of the active ingredients of cannabis. While CBD is an essential component of medical marijuana, it is derived directly from the hemp plant, which is a cousin of the marijuana plant. CBD-dominant strains have little or no THC.
Many people report medical benefits of CBD use. The use of marijuana for medical and recreational use varies by state. (See this link for state information, updated June 2019.) However, it is still illegal from the federal government’s perspective.
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) recently conducted a brief survey nationwide with the following anonymous responses. With their permission and our thanks, we are sharing this information due to the recent rise of CBD oil use across the nation.
NRMCA Question 7/18/19:
Cannabidiol, CBD oil, (made from cannabis plants) is a popular product for everything from pain control to anxiety to promoting sleep. However, with the rise of CBD oil comes the concern about CDL holders failing a drug test due to detection of CBD oil. News stories are emerging across the country involving truck drivers, who have gotten positive drug screening results for the presence of THC—the psychoactive component of marijuana, even though CBD oil is said to be THC-free. Has your company addressed this issue and can you share any company policies that you may have developed?
- We’ve only had one driver over the years test positive and claim that he no longer smoked, but his room mate cooked their food in CBD oil. To save argument and technicalities, we still made him go through the rehab program, again, as previously he tested positive for marijuana. After successful completion of the program, he was allowed to return to duty. He is tested every month now, and has been successful ever since. We used the incident in a tool box talk to alert the rest of the drivers of the significant risks of CBD oil. We have had no issues since.
- We discourage the use of CBD oil. Our drug policy for our cdl drivers is clear and the liability is too high if our driver were involved in an accident. We have terminated employee for failing drug test even though he claims in only used CBD oil. I have no proof and CBD oil is not risking my company's welfare.
- This question has come up here and I have addressed it with our drug testing TPA as well as the MRO. From my understanding, PURE CBD oil does not contain THC. The issue lies in where you are buying the product and if it in fact is pure. Apparently there are some manufacturers that are selling it as pure, but it is not and does contain certain levels of THC. As a motor carrier, we are bound by the federal guidelines for drug testing. As always, before an MRO verifies a positive test result, they will contact the employee. If the employee states they are using CBD oil, they will take that under consideration. Based on the levels of concentration, they will verify positive or not. If you receive a verified positive from an MRO, you have to treat it as such and take the necessary steps.
- Our company hasn’t had a complaint of a positive test because they used CBD, and we do both DOT and Non-DOT testing of employees.
- Nothing, we’ve just advised our drivers not to use it until further data is available.
- As we provide a drug free work environment for all of our employees, and as hemp/cannabis derived products are becoming more and more prevalent in society (not to mention marijuana now being legal in the great state of xxxxx), the issue in question is huge and is going to continue to grow. In conversations with a few of our xxxxx State Legislators, and with a presenter from the FMCSA at Concrete Works last year, we need to research and employ science that will allow us to determine at what point of detection of THC does one become impaired. In xxxx State, a blood alcohol percentage of 0.08 is considered impairment. We need something similar for Cannabis, considering that you are either positive or negative, and it stays in your system for 30 + days. I don’t know if we have lost anyone per the specifics sighted.
- In theory this product should not be a problem as the THC content should be nearly zero. However, the final verdict is still out. There are many products and not validated to FDA standards. Ingestion of these products have the potential to create a positive due to the THC content. The CBD portion is not reportable. Unfortunately, each vendor may be different and the amount of supplement ingested varies widely.
- I’ve had a couple of our employees question if they were to take the CDB oil would they fail a random drug test. The information that I have found is that some contain the THC and some state there is no THC. For the CBD oil to be effective in the way it is supposed to work, I’ve read that it would contain THC but maybe at a low enough level that they can say it has none. Either way the result on a drug test would be determined on how much the individual uses on a daily basis. For those employees that have asked, I’ve been advising them that it is up to them but they need to consider the risk and the possibility of losing their job.
- We have gotten a lot of similar questions. We tell people that they are risking a positive drug test and will be terminated if THC shows up in their system regardless of how it got there.
Should you have any questions or comments, contact Josie Gaskey.
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