What medications can cost you your CDL?

As a truck driver, your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) is your livelihood, so it is important to know which drugs –both legal and illegal — might put your career in jeopardy.

Illegal Drugs

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires truck drivers to take pre-employment drug tests that screen for the following substances:

• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines (Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA)
• Opioids (Codeine, Morphine, Heroin, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone, Oxycodone, Oxymorphone)
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

If you test positive for any of the drugs listed above, you could be disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle. It’s important to note that even though marijuana use has been legalized in many states, it remains illegal on a federal level.

Medications That Could Cost You Your CDL

There are some medications that can be legally prescribed by a physician or that could also disqualify you from keeping your CDL.

Some of these medications are defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation as Schedule I drugs and the list includes opiates, opium derivatives, hallucinogenic drugs, some depressants and stimulants, or Cannabimimetic agents (synthetic marijuana).

If you are prescribed a medication that is either on the DOT’s Schedule I list or is an amphetamine, a narcotic, or any other habit forming drug, you are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle unless the prescribing physician provides your DOT medical examiner with a letter giving you clearance to drive. Even then, it is up to the DOT medical examiner — not the prescribing physician — to determine whether the drug disqualifies you from operating a commercial motor vehicle.

Medications That Are Never Allowed, Even With Waiver

• Methadone
• Medical Marijuana
• CBD Products That Contain THC
• Kratom
• Any Anti-seizure Medication

Common Medications That Pose Potential Problems But Could Be Approved On a Case-By Case Basis (not comprehensive) — If your physician can show that these medications do not affect your ability to drive, it is possible that the DOT medical examiner could approve their use.

• Xanax
• Adderall
• Norco
• Klonopin
• Oxycodone
• Tramadol
• Lunesta
• Ambien
• Flexeril
• Paxil
• Imitrex
• Zonisamide
• Lorazepam
• Provigil

To view the full list of Schedule I drugs, please click here.

To learn more from the FMCSA on what drugs can disqualify a CMV driver, please click here.