Medical Marijuana: Just Say No, Says ATA
Arkansas Trucking Association opposes two medical marijuana initiatives
“FOR THE INDUSTRY, IT’S BEEN ALMOST ENTIRELY NEGATIVE.
IT’S MORE DIFFICULT FINDING DRUG-FREE DRIVERS AND OTHER EMPLOYEES, AND UNLIKE ALCOHOL,
MARIJUANA STAYS IN A USER’S SYSTEM FOR A WHILE, MAKING
TESTING DIFFICULT.” –GREG FULTON,
PRESIDENT OF THE COLORADO MOTOR CARRIERS ASSOCIATION
L-R: Joe Carter of Snyder Environmental and Doug Wasson of Kinco Construction stand behind Butch Rice, Stallion Transportation and chairman of ATA, as Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson looks on
By Steve Brawner Contributing Writer
Arkansas voters will be asked to
vote on two proposals that would legal- ize medical marijuana in Arkansas, and the Arkansas Trucking Association is opposed to both of them. The ATA’s board of directors
voted in late September to oppose the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment and the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act, both of which will be on the ballot Nov. 8 unless one or both
ARKANSAS TRUCKING REPORT | Issue 5 2016
are removed by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Butch Rice, president and CEO of
Stallion Transportation and the chair- man of the ATA, said in a press confer- ence at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce Sept. 28 that the measures would hurt the motor carrier industry in a number of ways. Rice said motor carriers operate in a “drug-free, zero tolerance” industry that must comply with federal drug mandates. It has faced a driver shortage that has lasted at least 15 years, and legalizing medical mari-
juana would make it even harder to find drivers who could pass a drug test. “We have 38,000 drivers here in
Arkansas,” he said. “I’m not worried about our 38,000 drivers – our profes- sional drivers, let me clarify that. I’m worried about the other vehicles on the road that could cause that slow move over in the lane, or that tailgating that would cause our equipment to be involved in an accident, which would cause a major problem on the inter- state.”
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