cannabis in the system

[vdubyah73]

federal law mandates that all commercial drivers licenses for heavy trucks (light trucks with air brakes included). Be urine tested for drugs. If you have a cdl license you have to pass a pre hire test, you are then subject to random testing, and after accident testing when personal injury or substantial property damage occurs. These are federal DOT regulations, they apply to all truck drivers, no matter what state, actively employed in the operation of trucks. individual states can make stricter rules but generally adopt the fed regs. The Federal regs recommend keeping the employee and allowing a return to work after a clean test. generally if you're not fired, you will be suspended for 30 days and return to work after a clean test. evaluation by a substance abuse counselor is required before return to work. once returned to work you are subject to follow up testing for 1 year, minimum of 6 times, Ive heard of drivers tested monthly after return. If you refuse a test it is considered a fail. If you leave the company and find a new job your new employer is required to contact former employers from up to 3 years prior and those former employers are required to respond with regard to failed drug tests. You the license holder are also required to give, in writing, a release to former employers allowing the release of "confidential" information to the employer hiring you. The 3 year thing is dangerous because if you failed a drug test 15-20 years ago but only 2 years has passed since leaving previous employer that 20 year old failed test will probably get your application thrown in the wrong pile. things got even weirder after 9/11 with the national driver registry and FBI background checks on hazmat drivers. When I first got my license it was simply called a class 1 you had to know how to drive a truck to get a license, a whole lot more complicated than that now. thats how I understand it, I've been a class a cdl driver for 25 years. If anyone else has and uses a cdl please chime in.

[Velokid1]

In Minnesota, cement truck drivers must take random piss tests. Fail and they lose their license. So, that would not be the case in Arizona. Interesting.

No, that is the case in Arizona. CDL licenses are subject to federal regulations, not state. There are many ways that the federal laws prohibiting marijuana "touch" people and organizations in states with medical marijuana laws.

For instance, doctors are federally licensed, thus they are subject to having their licenses revoked if they prescribe marijuana to a patient, which is why doctors in mmj states don't prescribe... they recommend i.e. write a letter stating that in their professional opinion, a person could safely see relief for their condition from the use of marijuana.

Or another example, even though a person might be acting in 100% compliance with their state laws regarding marijuana use or cultivation, the feds/DEA can come in and bust them anytime they wish.

My opinion is that we can expect more states adopting medical marijuana laws, not fewer. Right now we are at 16 states, and it's likely to increase by 1-3 states in 2012. At some point, the Federal Government is going to be forced to consider rescheduling marijuana. The public is demanding it and the economy is, too. We simply do not have the money to support the incredibly unsuccessful War on Drugs, and the enforcement of marijuana laws is responsible for eating up about 50% of that budget.

There will be a point where the federal government is forced to admit that charging people with DUI can only be done fairly if it is done based on actual impairment and not blood tests.

But for now, this is what we have.

In Arizona, if you work at Home Depot and fail a piss test, you will be fired if you don't have a medical marijuana registry card, but not if you have a card. Not really fair or logical.

Isn't is ironic that prohibitionists have such a hard time with logic? Aren't the pot smokers supposed to be the ones with "holes in their brains" leading to disorientation and confusion? Not to mention the man boobs and impotence it causes.