DOT drug testing concern with marijuana rescheduling

(The Center Square) – With the impending rescheduling of marijuana in the U.S., the transportation industry is searching for answers on whether it still will legally be able to test employees before sending them on the road or in the air. Truck and school bus drivers, train engineers and pilots are all considered “safety-sensitive” transportation employees, and therefore subject to drug testing under U.S. Department of Transportation regulations. But the DOT, which follows the U.S. Health and Human Services drug testing panel, only permits commercial transportation employers to test for Schedule I and II drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I drug but President Donald Trump this month signed an executive order to reclassify it as a Schedule III controlled substance, despite many Republican lawmakers urging him not to. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency describes Schedule I narcotics as those "with no currently accepted medical use and