Amazon Asks Delivery Partners NOT To Screen Drivers For Marijuana

In a bid to overcome a shortage of delivery drivers, Amazon is asking its delivery partners to prominently advertise that they do not screen applicants for marijuana use.

The US is grappling with driver shortages across a number of industries, from commerce to transportation, and are promoting hiring incentives such as bonuses.

For Amazon's local contractors, which operate the ubiquitous blue Amazon delivery vans, the delivery giant is now asking them to dangle another: no penalization for pot use.

Drivers will obviously not be allowed to drive while under the influence, but Amazon believe many have been put off applying because they fear a test will bring up prior use of the drug.

The company has told its partners that advertising the fact that they won't test for marijuana can boost applicants by 400 percent, but did not say how it arrived at that number, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Amazon is now asking its delivery partners, which operate the company's ubiquitous blue vans to prominently advertise in job posting that they do not screen for marijuana use in a bid to address driver shortages

Additionally, the company says that THC screening can cut prospective workers by as much as 30 percent.

Already, some of the ads are popping up.

Six days ago Portland, Oregon-based, Apcore Logistics placed an ad on the job posting site Linkedin for delivery drivers.

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At the top of the listing it says in bold letters, 'No THC Drug Testing.'

And on Wednesday, another Portland-based company, Lattitude Logistics, placed an ad on Indeed with similar language.

At the top, the posting says 'NO Cannabis testing!' with an addendum 'Bonuses every Paycheck!'

Already ads are popping up with prominent language for jobseekers who might otherwise think twice before applying

One Amazon partner said marijuana had been the main reason drivers failed drug tests, Bloomberg reported.

After it stopped at the behest of the company, and began only screening for amphetamines and opiates, she told the outlet that more drivers started passing.

Others, however, say they are worried about insurance liabilities, particularly in states where marijuana use remains illegal.

So far, 19 states have legalized marijuana either for medical or recreational use. The vast majority of delivery driver postings by delivery partners on sites such as Linkedin. Indeed say they still require workers to pass drug tests.

Delivery truck drivers are among the fastest growing occupations in the country

Other partners have said they worry that by ending marijuana testing, it could encourage drivers to get high before getting behind the wheel.

'If one of my drivers crashes and kills someone and tests positive for marijuana, that’s my problem, not Amazon’s,' another partner told Bloomberg.

The push to hire more delivery drivers comes as the industry has seen large growth in recent years.

According to the US Department of Labor, employment of delivery truck and van drivers is projected to grow five percent from 2019 to 2029, which is higher than the average employment for all occupations in the country.

The move comes after Amazon said the company itself would stop screening job applicants for marijuana use, and has been lobbying federal lawmakers to pass laws legalizing the drug

Additionally, about 164,100 additional openings for delivery drivers are projected each year, the agency reported.

Amazon's request to its partners comes on the heels of its announcement in June that the company itself wont test jobseekers for marijuana.

In a blogpost, the company said it would end testing for marijuana use, but would conduct 'impairment checks' on the job, and the company said some roles may still require a cannabis test in line with Department of Transportation regulations.

The company said it was also lobbying lawmakers to pass federal marijuana legalization measures, noting that marijuana laws disproportionately affected communities of color.