A New Jersey administrative law judge has dealt another blow to Jersey City’s police chief and mayor, ordering the reinstatement of another officer who was fired after testing positive for marijuana despite state constitutional protections.
The Jersey City Police Department has contested the state’s policy permitting off-duty cannabis use, including by law enforcement, and has fired several officers due to positive THC metabolite tests. But now two administrative law judges, as well as the Civil Service Commission (CSC), have overruled the department, upholding the constitutional protections that were enshrined under the state’s marijuana legalization law in 2021.
Accordingly, the department has been ordered to reinstate Norhan Mansour and Omar Polanco, with backpay. Mansour’s case was resolved by Administrative Law Judge Kimberly Moss earlier this month. And on Friday, Administrative Law Judge Joann Lasala Candido followed suit in Polanco’s case.
In both instances, the city tried to argue that federal statute prohibiting people from buying or possessing firearms if they’re an “unlawful user” of marijuana preempts the state’s laws. But as the judges pointed out, police are exempt from that rule, as they can obtain firearms after completing training at the Police Academy.
“I agree with the Mansour analysis by ALJ
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