NTSB Flags Concerns Over Proposed Marijuana Changes

The National Transportation Safety Board expressed concerns over a proposed rule by the Drug Enforcement Administration to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

The agency warned that the rule change could jeopardize federally required drug testing for those in safety-sensitive positions. That includes school bus drivers.

Warning Over Potential Testing Limitations

According to a news release, the NTSB is concerned that the proposed move would prohibit continued federally required testing of safety-sensitive transportation employees for marijuana use because laboratories certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for such testing are not authorized to test for Schedule III controlled substances.

The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act of 1991 requires safety-sensitive employees to undergo drug and alcohol testing, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The NTSB urged the DEA to “ensure that any final rule to reschedule marijuana does not compromise marijuana testing under DOT and HHS procedures applicable to safety-sensitive transportation employees.”

According to the NTSB, moving marijuana to Schedule III without taking steps to ensure that marijuana testing remains within the scope of pre-employment, random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug testing would create a safety “blind spot.”

“Removal of marijuana testing from DOT and HHS drug testing panels for safety-sensitive transportation employees would remove a layer of safety oversight that employers have been managing for decades, and it would prevent DOT and HHS drug testing from acting as a deterrent to marijuana use by those employees,” the NTSB statement continued. “Additionally, the NTSB would no longer have DOT and federal workplace marijuana test results as evidence in our investigations.”

What About Medicinal Marijuana?

Until the process is complete, marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance. Even if the reclassification occurs, marijuana would be limited to prescriptions by doctors, School Bus Fleet previously reported.

However, because marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States under federal law, a physician’s recommendation for the use of medical marijuana does not constitute a “legitimate medical explanation” for a positive DOT or federal workplace marijuana test result under 49 CFR Part 40 and HHS Mandatory Guidelines, the NTSB noted.

The NTSB is urging the DEA to 'scrutinize how its determination about marijuana' having a currently accepted medical use might affect a safety-sensitive transportation employee’s ability to present medical marijuana use as a legitimate medical explanation for a positive marijuana result on a drug test.