A new voice in the cannabis legalization debate is America’s trucking force, which counts an estimated 3.5 million drivers in the United States, according to Census reports. At a May Senate Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight, and Ports Subcommittee hearing titled “Freight Mobility: Strengthening America’s Supply Chains and Competitiveness,” lawmakers and those who testified addressed the “current challenges facing the freight industry, and the ways in which Congress and stakeholders can enhance our nation’s transportation infrastructure and supply chains to ensure the continued competitiveness of American freight movement.” It was through this lens that cannabis came up. Witnesses included Chuck Baker, the president of the American Short Line & Regional Railroad Association; Lamont Byrd, the director of the Safety and Health Department for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Chris Connor, president & CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities; and Chris Spear, the president & CEO of the American Trucking Associations. Spear testified that changing cannabis laws — 18 states and D.C. have now legalized cannabis for adult use, and dozens of states have medical cannabis programs — “have uniquely challenged our industry, and have exposed critical issues related to workplace and highway safety.”
Alyson Martin, Cannabis Wire, 06/20/2021 20:00:00