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Federal law says pot users can’t have guns. Jersey City mayor says that must mean cops, too.
By
Joseph Capriglione
and
Sean Carlson
Published Oct 21, 2023
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KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
By
Joseph Capriglione
and
Sean Carlson
Published Oct 21, 2023
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One of New Jersey's largest cities is suing the state to prevent police officers from using cannabis even when they're off duty.
State regulations prohibit employers for penalizing workers for using marijuana when off the job. The state attorney general’s office says that applies to cops, too. And the New Jersey Civil Service Commission recently ruled Jersey City was wrong to fire officers who used marijuana off the clock.
But Jersey City says those rules contradict federal law, including a prohibition on drug users possessing or using firearms. And the city says letting police officers get high could put Jersey City and its residents in danger.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop joined WNYC’s Sean Carlson to discuss the suit. A transcript of that discussion below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Can you tell us more about the lawsuit? Why shouldn't police officers be allowed to use cannabis when they're off duty?
So let me start by saying that New Jersey is the only state in the country [of those that have legalized marijuana use] that doesn't have carveouts for certain professions. … So imagine leaving your child with a bus driver that you don't know if [they’ve] been using cannabis-related products right before he takes responsibility for your child or health care workers.
…
There are no carveouts in New Jersey. So that's a kind of important point. And the other thing I would highlight is that it's different than alcohol. Whereas alcohol, you can test and know if somebody is inebriated while on duty, in the case of THC [the major psychoactive component of cannabis], there is no test to know if somebody has ingested it an hour before their shift, a week before their shift or two weeks before their shift.
And in the case of a police officer, where they make decisions that can impact life and death, there is a huge liability for us in the case of them having a firearm, and that's where the contradiction is on the federal law.
What kind of risks could officers using cannabis pose for Jersey City?
Federal law, it's very, very clear that if you use Schedule 1 drugs, based on the federal guidelines, you're not allowed to have a firearm. That's very clear. And then New Jersey law is you cannot be a police officer without having a firearm. So in the case of a police officer doing something that results in, let's say, injury or death and a lawsuit is filed after that, the city is responsible for tens of millions of dollars in liability because they're obviously going to be in that lawsuit. The question is, why did the city allow the police officer to have a gun contrary to [federal] law?
Every other state has a carveout except for New Jersey. So we asked the attorney general to intervene. He didn't. We asked the civil service to intervene. They didn't. So we had no choice but to file a federal lawsuit.
What about officers who get prescribed marijuana for medical reasons?
What we did in all of the other instances is that we offered them a responsibility within the police department that doesn't entail them having a firearm. And that's what other departments do and other states do. So we would pursue it in that way, case by case, based on what they're prescribed medically and how to have them safely serve in the city.
But today's law in New Jersey allows them to, you know, let's say ... smoke a joint an hour before a shift and then operate their shift for the next eight hours. And I think any reasonable person in the state of New Jersey or the state of New York would say that's a little silly.
Editor’s note: The Attorney General's Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy, which was updated earlier this year, bars officers from being under the influence of cannabis during work hours. An officer considered under reasonable suspicion of marijuana impairment during work hours can be given a drug test that includes a physical evaluation by a “workplace recognition expert.”
Now, it's no secret, mayor, that police departments around the country have had kind of a hard time recruiting new officers in the past couple of years. And the head of New Jersey's largest police union told Politico that his members support cannabis usage. So why create another obstacle that could hurt efforts to recruit police?
Look, I assume they support cannabis and, and being able to do whatever they want in their free time. But I don't think that's in the public's best interest. And we shouldn't be compromising standards of police officers, certainly in today's day and age.
I mean, the standards to carry a firearm and be a police officer should be very, very high. And so just because there's issues around recruiting, which is broader than allowing somebody to smoke cannabis or not, I don't think that's a valid reason why they should be allowed to, and I think a reasonable person would agree with me on that.
Now, you've been very supportive of cannabis legalization over the course of your career. And just to remind us of the context here, when states legalize recreational marijuana they're doing it in contradiction of federal law. So in bringing this lawsuit about, are you concerned that this could be a slippery slope that could open the state to other litigation about adult-use cannabis?
I mean, it is possible. But the context of our lawsuit is really about firearms and the contradiction with forcing us to provide somebody a firearm as a police officer. In the case of the lawsuit, it's really just about firearms and the contradiction that exposes us to tens of millions of dollars in potential losses.
New Jersey residents voted overwhelmingly to legalize recreational cannabis back in 2020. Now, you are running for governor in 2025, and in doing so, will need to assemble a coalition to win a primary in the Democratic Party in less than two years. As far as I know this is not necessarily an issue the public is rallying around. So why would you invest political capital in something like this?
Well, look, it's true. There's been no mayor in New Jersey that's been more supportive of legalization of cannabis. I think my track record is pretty clear. But my responsibility today is to the residents of Jersey City and doing the right thing.
I assume that, if you poll it, you'd find that police officers don't like it and some in the public like what I'm saying, but at the end of the day, I'm trying to do the right thing. And I think a responsible thing is to say that a police officer shouldn't be high when responding to a call with a firearm.
Tagged
jersey city
marijuana
public safety
health
police
new jersey
Politics
Joseph Capriglione
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Sean Carlson
Before coming to New York Public Radio, Sean worked in print, online and radio news around the mid-Atlantic region and Alaska. A New Jersey native, he holds a B.A. from the New School University in Greenwich Village and an M.A. from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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