• Food/Beverage
  • Wine/Beer/Spirits
  • Cannabis
  • Supply Chain
    • More Perishables
  • Hispanic Market Focus
  • Resources
    • About Supply Chain Sparrow
    • C.E.O. Insights
    • Contact Us
    • E-news Sign-up
    • Inspiration
    • Privacy Policy
    • SCSparrow Custom
    • Winging It! News Bites Podcast
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021
  • Advertise with SCSparrow

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Supply Chain Sparrow –Supply Chain News and Resources

The Perishables Ecosystem –Food, Wine, Cannabis & More

Truckers, Take Note: DOT Issues Notice On Use of CBD Products

SCSparrow Staff · April 2020 ·

On February 18, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance issued a notice on the use of CBD products. 

The agency stated, “We have had inquiries about whether the Department of Transportation-regulated safety-sensitive employees can use CBD products.”

Safety-sensitive employees who are subject to drug testing include: truck drivers, pilots, school bus drivers, train engineers, transit vehicle operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, fire-armed transit security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.

Eric E. Hobbs and Kayla McCann, from the law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, advised that, “CBD products are not illegal, and nether is their use. CBD products are those products that contain less than 0.3 percent of THC, and therefore do not fall within the legal definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. Products with less than 0.3 percent of THC should not trigger a positive drug screen, and the DOT does not test for CBD oil.”

However, “CBD use is not an excuse for a positive drug screen,” emphasized the authors. “As the DOT explains, CBD products are highly unregulated and may contain more than 0.3 percent of THC, even if their labels indicate the contrary. This means that the use of CBD products could trigger a positive drug test for THC, and any such test result will be treated as would any other result that is positive for THC.”

The DOT’s notice provided the following for employers and safety-sensitive employees:

  • The Department of Transportation requires testing for marijuana and not CBD.
  • The labeling of many CBD products may be misleading because the products could contain higher levels of THC than what the product label states. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not currently certify the levels of THC in CBD products, so there is no Federal oversight to ensure that the labels are accurate. The FDA has cautioned the public that: “Consumers should beware purchasing and using any [CBD] products.” The FDA has stated: “It is currently illegal to market CBD by adding it to a food or labeling it as a dietary supplement.”  Also, the FDA has issued several warning letters to companies because their products contained more CBD than indicated on the product label. 
  • The Department of Transportation’s Drug and Alcohol Testing Regulation, Part 40, does not authorize the use of Schedule I drugs, including marijuana, for any reason. Furthermore, CBD use is not a legitimate medical explanation for a laboratory-confirmed marijuana positive result. Therefore, Medical Review Officers will verify a drug test confirmed at the appropriate cutoffs as positive, even if an employee claims they only used a CBD product.
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Filed Under: Cannabis

Primary Sidebar

I VOTED (for cannabis)

No matter their political stripe, many Americans are in agreement with efforts to legalize recreational and medical cannabis.

On November 3, voters legalized marijuana for adult use in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Initiatives to legalize medical cannabis passed in Mississippi and South Dakota. The rapid expansion of legalized cannabis throughout the U.S. has a direct impact on the supply chain.

Let’s start by considering the food supply chain–a valuable case study with COVID-19 as the backdrop. Early on, Americans experienced food shortages at the retail level. Manufacturers and distributors scrambled to realign networks to supply grocery stores where demand was spiking, while shifting away from restaurants and the hospitality sector where demand was tanking. In a matter of months, online shopping and food delivery to consumers’ homes grew dramatically. As a result, the food supply chain is in the midst of reinventing itself.

The cannabis supply chain faces some similar challenges. Most importantly, there’s an opportunity now to learn and adopt best practices from the food and pharmaceutical supply chains with which it shares key commonalities.

What are the risks to the cannabis supply chain? California’s unprecedented fires this year threatened growers throughout the state. How quickly can infrastructure scale-up to meet demand, and at what cost? Commercial and industrial real estate is currently at a premium with the proliferation of e-commerce. What about transportation, distribution and logistics capabilities, including reverse logistics in the case of product recalls? Facilities, equipment, and skilled workers are in high demand, and as competition for these various assets tightens, what does that mean for the entire perishables sector (food, cannabis, wine, beverages, pharma, etc.) that need them? Collaboration and creativity can provide critical solutions across the board.

On a related note, a small handful of American and European companies are in talks with Rwanda now about exporting cannabis to the country to meet rising pharmaceutical demand. Supply Chain Sparrow has previously identified cannabis exports as a massive opportunity for the U.S., which of course, would require legislative changes at the federal level.

Vote. And keep on voting.

Be Brave. Fly Right. And keep in touch at info@scsparrow.com.

Lara L. Sowinski, Executive Editor

UPCOMING EVENT: Navigating Wine Logistics in a New World

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Join Alejandro MacCawley Vergara for our VinRoutes Summit 2020

Press Release: Digital Media Brand “Supply Chain Sparrow” Launches

E-news Sign-up

Supply Chain Sparrow Newsletter

Podcast: News Bites & Insights

featured cover art

Cannabis in Deutschland!

Podcast: Play in new window

Germany is the biggest market for medical cannabis outside of North America. Companies in Canada, and even the U.S., are eyeing opportunities.

Subscribe to Podcast

Google PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options

C.E.O. Insights: Eden Amirav, C.E.O. of Become

C.E.O. Insights

4 Ways Transportation and Shipping SMBs Can Get Back on Track After COVID-19

Logistics companies can emerge stronger post-pandemic by focusing on digitalization, creating new vendor partnerships and relationships, and getting lean, according to Eden Amirav, C.E.O. and co-founder of Become.

INSPIRATION

OFF THE EARTH WITH NASA

WE ARE BETTER WITH BACH

Support Netherlands Bach Society https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en

More Inspiration

Recent Posts

  • Now is the Time for Food Manufacturers to Embrace Digitalization Technologies
  • Q&A With Diageo On 2020 Sustainability Goals, Commitment to Diversity
  • Cheers to Robot Supported Happy Hours
  • Molecular Tagging Takes Cannabis Tracking & Tracing to the Next Level
  • Convenience Stores Pivot to Meet New Consumer Demands

Need Some Air? Contact Us

sparrow-contacts

Supply Chain Sparrow

1001 SW Emkay Dr., Suite 100
Bend, Oregon 97702

1 (408) 792-7005

TOPICS

Resources & Assets

  • SCSparrow Mission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with SCSparrow
    • Privacy Policy
  • Resources
  • SCSparrow Custom
  • Training & Certification
  • E-news Sign-up
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • About Supply Chain Sparrow
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Tags

AI automation black market cannabis Canada cannabis cannabis compliance China climate change cold chain compliance conveniencestore coronavirus demandsensing Diageo digital supply chain Diversity Excise Tax financing foodservice foodsupplychain Germany GMP IOT Iron Apple Latin Trade legal cannabis manufacturing maquiladoras NAFTA Perishables ports quality management system reshoring robots Supply Chain supplychain Supply Chain News Supply Chain Talent Sustainability tracking and tracing USMCA wineindustry

Make Your Advertising Spend an Investment

logo for Supply Chain Sparrow

Advertise with SCSparrow

SCSparrow Archives

Footer

FLY BACK HOME

home-button

Copyright © 2021 • supply chain sparrow • Subscribe • privacy policy