Commercial drivers who use CBD products are doing so “at their own risk,” a federal agency says in a draft handbook for medical examiners who are responsible for issuing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) certifications.
The proposed guidance, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, is meant to advise medical examiners as they carry out physical exams for commercial drivers whose jobs require interstate travel.
While the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) handbook says that drivers aren’t prohibited from using federally legal CBD products that contain up to 0.3 percent THC per dry weight, it cautions examiners that the use of the non-intoxicating cannabinoid could still jeopardize physical exam certifications.
Drivers who are required to submit to the exam and receive the DOT certification, which lasts for two years, “cannot be physically qualified” if they use marijuana, regardless of state law, the agency says—”even if marijuana is legal in the State where the driver resides for recreational, medicinal, or religious use.”
But hemp-derived CBD was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, prompting FMCSA to include the new cannabis section in the handbook.
The reason that the handbook warns medical examiners about drivers’ CBD use is because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate products that are widely available in commercial markets across the country.
“There is no Federal oversight to ensure that the labels…
