guest editorial
Legal marijuana: impact on pupil transport industry
BY NEW YORK SCHOOL BUS
CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION
Following the path of other states
in the wake of dramatic changes in
public attitude toward recreational
marijuana use, Governor Cuomo has
highlighted adult-use cannabis legalization
as one of his 2020 priorities.
But New Yorkers should be cautious
before jumping into the pool and
consider the consequences — both
known and unknown — of legalizing
recreational marijuana in New York,
particularly when it comes to transportation
safety and the unintended
consequences it may have on an industry
which is already dealing with
a shortage of available school bus
drivers.
The distinction for school bus driv-
ers, as well as certain other professional
drivers, is that they are not
only subject to state and local laws,
but also a number of federal regulations
specifi c to employees in “safetysensitive
positions.” In response to
changing state laws, the U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT) issued
statements in 2009, 2012, and 2016 addressing
legalized marijuana and
transportation personnel. These statements
defi nitively note that even when
allowed under a state law “it remains
unacceptable for any safety-sensitive
employee subject to drug testing to use
marijuana.”
It’s important to remember that
even though marijuana may be legal at
the state level, the federal government
still considers it a Schedule I substance
BRONX TIMES R 12 EPORTER, MARCH13-19, 2020 BTR
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under the Controlled Substances Act
and, thus, it is illegal. Accordingly, because
school bus operators are subject
to federal regulation, school bus drivers
and other safety-sensitive employees
are strictly prohibited from using
marijuana in any form, even if it is
legal under state law. In addition, the
DOT’s drug and alcohol testing regulations
do not authorize ‘medical marijuana’
as a valid medical explanation
for a positive drug test result.
As safety-sensitive employees,
school bus drivers are always, without
question, subject to pre-employment,
post-accident, reasonable suspicion,
and random drug and alcohol screenings.
In the pupil transportation industry,
there simply is no grey area on
drug testing and rightfully so.
As a result, the legalization of recreational
marijuana in New York will
certainly change a private contractors’
ability to hire new employees because
now we are talking about having
a legal substance that is still banned
by a contractors’ drug testing policy at
a time when it’s harder and harder to
fi nd school bus drivers.
The most important consideration
for the school transportation industry
is the safe transportation of our
most precious cargo- our children. According
to the National Institutes of
Health, marijuana use signifi cantly
impairs judgment, motor coordination
and reaction time. As a result, private
contractors have a duty to the school
districts that they work with, as well
as the general public, to ensure that
school bus drivers are not driving with
marijuana in their system. Therefore,
regardless of state law, school bus drivers
will still be fi red and tested for offduty
marijuana use until and unless
there is a defi nitive fi eld test for marijuana
as there is for alcohol including
an enforceable national impairment
standard.
(Formed in 1950, the New York
School Bus Contractors Association
(NYSBCA) is an organization comprising
of more than one hundred school
transportation service companies with
the primary mission of promoting safe,
reliable and cost-effective student transportation
in New York State. New York
school bus contractors transport over
half of the 2.3 million students who ride
a yellow school bus to school each day
and employ approximately 45,000 people,
operate roughly 30,000 school vehicles
and provide service to over 300
school districts in New York State.)
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed
care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter,
3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@
cnglocal.com. All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be
signed and with a verifi able address and telephone number included. Note
that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld upon request. No unsigned letters can
be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions.
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