Congress Introduces Bipartisan Bill Mandating Federal Marijuana Impairment Standards for Drivers

Bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. House have unveiled sweeping transportation legislation that would require federal officials to establish evidence-based impairment standards for marijuana and other drugs, marking a significant step toward addressing drug-impaired driving at the national level. The "Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development (BUILD) for America’s 250th Act," introduced by Reps. Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rick Larsen (D-WA), covers a broad range of transportation issues and spans more than 1,000 pages. A key provision directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to work with other federal agencies to study the effects of marijuana and polysubstance use on driving and develop science-backed standards to detect impairment

Under the proposed legislation, the transportation secretary would be required to report progress on these standards to Congress. The bill also mandates the creation of a national drug-involved crash data collection system, which would gather standardized toxicology data from states for fatal and serious injury crashes. This system would link crash data with medical, hospital, and emergency services records and develop model protocols for specimen collection and reporting. The DOT could award grants to states to launch pilot programs and support labs, data systems, and training initiatives

Privacy protections are integral to the bill’s data collection efforts. All data collected must be deidentified before being made public, and the transportation secretary is tasked with providing Congress with reports analyzing trends, substance types, and geographic patterns from the gathered data. The legislation allocates $110 million for these activities over fiscal years 2027 through 2031, ensuring significant federal investment in research and infrastructure to address impaired driving

The bill arrives as the Department of Transportation recently reinforced that safety-sensitive workers—including truck drivers and airline pilots—remain prohibited from using medical marijuana, regardless of changes in federal scheduling or state law. "Marijuana use is not compatible with safety-sensitive functions," the agency stated, emphasizing that medical review officers cannot clear employees who test positive for marijuana, even if they possess a state-issued medical marijuana card. The DOT clarified, "Currently, there is no instance when the MRO could verify a laboratory-confirmed marijuana positive drug test result as 'negative' when an employee claims the positive was caused by a State licensed marijuana product."

Broader regulatory dialogue continues around marijuana policy and impaired driving. Last October, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy highlighted ongoing political pressure to reschedule cannabis, but warned of public health risks, noting, "At a time when culture is pushing and celebrating the use of marijuana, we’re not talking about the risk." The bill’s focus on rigorous data and standardized impairment metrics could provide lawmakers and regulators with the tools needed to navigate these complex issues as legalization expands across states

From an OG Lab perspective, this legislative initiative signals a growing federal commitment to defining and managing marijuana impairment on the roads—a challenge that has long stymied both regulators and the cannabis industry. As the research unfolds and new standards emerge, industry stakeholders should prepare for potential changes in compliance, testing, and public safety protocols. This development is worth watching for its potential to influence not just U.S. policy, but global approaches to cannabis and traffic safety