CB…Don’t

Safety-Senitive Matters

On February 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) disseminated a CBD Notice on their Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance in regards to CBD use. Although, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-334 otherwise known as the Farm Bill, removed hemp from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, not all hemp-derived products are made the same.

THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is the primary psychoactive component of marijuana and is not considered a controlled substance when in concentrations of 0.3% or less. This means, any CBD (Cannabidiol) product containing this amount or less is not considered a Schedule I drug. The opposite holds true. Any CBD products that contain 0.3% or more can be considered a Schedule I drug.

The DOT notes

“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 the labels are accurate.”

Simply put, the DOT is saying, safety-sensitive employees who use CBD for whatever reason are doing so at their own risk.

Per 49 CFR par 40, safety sensitive employees are:

“pilots, school bus drivers, truck drivers, train engineers, transit vehicle operators, aircraft maintenance personnel, fire-armed transit security personnel, ship captains, and pipeline emergency response personnel, among others.”

As CBD products and marijuana become more normalized and readily available, the DOT is attempting to inform employees who may be unaware and unintentionally putting themselves at risk. In layman’s terms, CBD will not excuse you from a positive drug test. If you fall into one of the above-named safety-sensitive roles, CBD is no excuse of the law. As things stand, the DOT can only make people aware as laws and regulations attempt to catch up to social norms and state laws. However, like our previous article No Tokes Here which outlines Marijuana specifically, and discusses the issue of truck drivers and legalized marijuana, I don’t believe the wall of CBD use will be falling anytime soon either.

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