Rocky Mountain High

There’s a song written and sung by John Denver titled, “Rocky Mount High.” Back in 1972 when the song was released, it was banned by some radio stations as many people thought it meant getting high on drugs, but in reality, it meant getting high on life.

Denver found that the beauty, sights and sounds of the Colorado mountains gave him a sense of serenity in his life.

I recently read several articles in Fleet Owner magazine about the trucking industry’s marijuana problem.

The title of the editor’s articles was: “Cannabis competition. Marijuana legalization is creating more roadblocks for fleets to find drivers.” He stated, “Marijuana’s growing popularity and societal acceptance is complicating the trucking industry’s driver hiring and retention struggles.”

 The safety and operations feature had the headline, “The Marijuana Problem.”  The author stated: “It’s still a highly competitive situation to get the right drivers into your seats, and this complicates the process.”

Under the Safety 411 article, the headline read: “Don’t let safety go up in smoke.” This author wrote: “Maybe before the government reclassifies marijuana … we can provide our industry with the tools to succeed and a fully implemented clearinghouse for others to follow.”

All of the articles strongly stated the purpose of the articles was not to question the merits of marijuana legalization efforts that have taken place, but to ask whether the trucking industry has the resources necessary to curb its use on the roads.

While marijuana testing doesn’t measure impairment, it is still necessary to make sure fleets have the safest drivers and it’s important while under the threat of lawsuits and nuclear verdicts.

Education seems to be needed as the use of marijuana obviously is a problem without a simple solution for the trucking industry, and for roadway safety.

Perhaps John Denver had it right, a visit to the Colorado Rocky Mountains just might be a better choice.