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New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a series of bills meant to empower employers to punish workers\u2014including law enforcement and other first responders specifically\u2014 from using marijuana off duty in compliance with state law.<\/p>\n
The filing of the legislation comes amid a controversy over a document released by the state attorney general\u2019s office<\/a> last month that explained how New Jersey\u2019s adult-use cannabis law currently allows police to use marijuana when they are not on the job.<\/p>\n Now there are three new bills that generally seek to impose restrictions on such activity for select employees.<\/p>\n One measure<\/a>, from Rep. Louis Greenwald (D), is seeking to amendment state statute to permit law enforcement agencies to penalize police for cannabis use, conduct random drug tests for marijuana and refuse to hire applicants due to lawful cannabis use.<\/p>\n As it stands, according to the state\u2019s top prosecutor, law enforcement agencies are barred from taking adverse action against officers who use marijuana as long as such use is compliant with the recreational legalization law that was implemented last month.<\/p>\n New Jersey\u2019s pro-legalization governor and key lawmakers have indicated in recent weeks that they\u2019d be inclined to support legislation to give law enforcement agencies the authority to set their own marijuana policies for police.<\/p>\n But while Greenwald\u2019s bill is targeted specifically toward police, there are at least two other new measures in play that would similarly impose employment-based restrictions on lawful cannabis consumption.<\/p>\n \u2014 Unlike the police-specific bill from Greenwald, the full text of the other two pieces of legislation are not yet available, but their titles clarify the intent.<\/p>\n The description of one of those proposals reads<\/a>: \u201cPermits employer to prohibit use of cannabis by certain employees.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what kind of workers would be subject to the broad prohibition.<\/p>\n The other says<\/a>: \u201cProhibits paid first responders from engaging in recreational use of cannabis items.\u201d The language seems to go further than simply authorizing employers to punish workers who use marijuana by flatly banning such activity under state law.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, media reporting on the police exception for marijuana use has stirred the pot, with local officials across the state pushing back against the notion that their cops should be able to get high on their own time.<\/p>\n Jersey City\u2019s mayor, for example,\u00a0touted\u00a0a local directive from a city agency banning such use.<\/p>\n The mayor of Bayonne followed suit with its own statement opposing off-duty marijuana use by police.<\/p>\n And the mayors of Kearny and Weehawken also\u00a0announced\u00a0they will be moving to institute bans.<\/p>\n The Newark City Council\u00a0passed a resolution last month urging the mayor to issue an order prohibiting police from using marijuana while off duty, contrary to state law.<\/p>\n Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) said in a previous statement to Marijuana Moment that \u201cpublic safety is my top priority, and I share concerns about how legal cannabis impacts the role of police in our State\u201d but suggested that cities moving to ban officers from exercising their legal right to consume marijuana could face legal action.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Jersey\u2019s law legalizing and regulating cannabis is clear and we are obligated to comply. I welcome conversations on how best to protect public safety,\u201d he said. \u201cAny efforts by local governments to subject officers to additional requirements in the interim, however, may present employment law issues that we anticipate will be handled between those governments and officers in the appropriate course.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police is\u00a0asking\u00a0lawmakers to pass a ban on police and other people in safety-sensitive jobs from using marijuana, even while off duty. And the New Jersey State Policemen\u2019s Benevolent Association is also\u00a0urging\u00a0members to refrain from using cannabis.<\/p>\n Concerns about off-duty marijuana use by police notwithstanding, New Jersey legislative leaders recently attended an event with Gov. Phil Murphy (D) celebrating the launch of the state\u2019s adult-use market.<\/p>\n Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D) said he was \u201cthrilled\u201d to participate in the \u201cmomentous and historic\u201d launch. He previously said that delays in the rollout of legalization were unacceptable<\/a>, and he announced he\u2019d be forming a special legislative committee to explore the issue through oversight hearings.<\/p>\n State data shows that New Jersey adult-use marijuana sales reached about $2 million<\/a> on its the first day that shops opened last month.<\/p>\n Regulators were\u00a0initially\u00a0expected to approve a first round of adult-use retail licenses<\/a> for certain existing dispensaries in March, but they temporarily decided against it. The commission separately gave conditional approval to 68 marijuana cultivators and manufacturers.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a mix of feelings about the timeline for legalization implementation among stakeholders. As regulators have worked to approve the first round of licenses, some advocates have pushed for expediency while others said that they felt it was important not to rush the process to ensure that the industry that emerges is equitable and not dominated by large corporations.<\/p>\n The governor previously stressed that \u201cequity is a huge part of our proposition here, and I know that may take longer than folks otherwise would like.\u201d He\u2019s also talked about being open-minded to permitting adults to grow their own marijuana for personal use down the line, but that it would take action by the legislature. Murphy similarly talked about\u00a0being open to home grow late last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Separately, U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) recently criticized New Jersey regulators about diversity issues in the marijuana market, saying he\u2019s\u00a0\u201coutraged\u201d over the lack of minority representation<\/a>\u00a0in the industry.<\/p>\n With respect to equity for the market, Murphy also recently touted the fact that the courts have\u00a0expunged more than 362,000 marijuana cases<\/a>\u00a0since July 1, when a decriminalization law took effect that mandated the relief for people who have been caught up in prohibition enforcement.<\/p>\n Washington Governor And Top Officials Urge Congress To Pass Marijuana Banking Reform<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Martin Alonso<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post New Jersey Lawmakers File Bills To Restrict Marijuana Use By Police And Other Workers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a series of bills meant to empower employers to punish workers\u2014including law enforcement and other first responders specifically\u2014 from using marijuana off duty in compliance with state law. The filing of the legislation comes amid a controversy over a document released by the state attorneyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":54600,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54601,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54599\/revisions\/54601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: New Jersey Lawmakers File Bills To Restrict Marijuana Use By Police And Other Workers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"