NYC taxi commission to stop testing cabbies for marijuana

 Green light!

With marijuana now legal in New York, the city Taxi & Limousine Commission will no longer test cabbies and livery drivers for cannabis.

“Due to the change in the law, going forward, the TLC will no longer test for marijuana in required annual drug tests,” the agency wrote Friday in a memo to licensees obtained by The Post.

“Big mistake,” Fernando Mateo, founder and spokesman of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, told The Post. “It’s irresponsible.”

“If they’re not going to be testing for marijuana, that means drivers will have the opportunity to smoke weed and drive,” he said. “I don’t want my kids in a car with a guy that smokes weed, and is allowed to smoke weed regularly, and not get tested. We have to draw the line somewhere.”

The agency cautioned drivers, “While the use of marijuana is now legal for adults, it is still the law that TLC-licensed Drivers must be sober when they operate a vehicle.” It also noted that testing for other drugs would remain unchanged.

A McGill University study published in March found: “Recreational cannabis legalization in the US was associated with a relative increased risk of fatal motor vehicle collisions of 15% and a relative increase in associated deaths of 16%.”

The TLC — which licenses drivers of the city’s taxis, livery cars, and Uber and Lyft vehicles — didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

https://nypost.com/2021/05/01/nyc-taxi-commission-to-stop-testing-cabbies-for-marijuana/