Clearing the Drug Testing Haze Under Legalized Cannabis
In light of the legalization of cannabis, many New Jersey employers wonder whether they can still drug test their employees. The answer is yes, under the following circumstances:
In light of the legalization of cannabis, many New Jersey employers wonder whether they can still drug test their employees. The answer is yes, under the following circumstances:
On February 22, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (CREAMMA). Among other things, the 240-page measure legalizes the recreational use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older and—unfortunately for employers—places significant burdens on companies doing business in New Jersey with respect to marijuana and the workplace.
Employment Protections for Employees
Perhaps most notably, CREAMMA prohibits an employer from refusing to hire or from taking adverse employment action against an individual merely because that person engages in the recreational use of marijuana:
The New Jersey legislature passed the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act in December, 2020 (NJ A21) that would establish a licensing system with six classes of licenses to cultivate and distribute cannabis. While the bill would prioritize licenses in “impact zones,” meaning zones with high unemployment and a history of cannabis-related offenses, the bill was criticized for limiting the availability of licenses to 37 licenses total over the next two years for both medical and recreational cultivators.
The bills were introduced after 2.7 million New Jerseyans, over two-thirds of voters, supported a constitutional amendment, via ballot question, to legalize weed during the 2020 elections.
The pair of bills now head to Gov. Phil Murphy's desk, where he is expected to sign them into law. The ballot question takes effect Jan. 1.
New Jersey’s cannabis legislation is moving fast. The Garden State will soon allow recreational use and sales, joining 14 other states in America’s recent Green Rush.
The state’s passage of Question 2 in the Nov. 3 election legalized adult-use cannabis, but now it’s up to the Legislature to establish the detailed rules. Leafly went deep into the weeds of NJ’s 200-page bill and came away with the key takeaways you need to know before the scheduled December 17 vote.
Is weed decriminalized in NJ? More to come
For over one month, legislators and activists have sparred — often within their own groups — over what comes next for legal weed.
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act would essentially set the rules and framework for regulations for a legal cannabis industry.
The public passed marijuana legalization on Nov. 6th supposedly to be free of the regulatory intrusiveness of government, and today the state Senate Appropriations Committee demonstrated new vistas of intrusive potential as it passed – along party lines – Senate Bill No. 21, with some amendments targeting social justice concerns that diverged from the Assembly version of the bill and created more questions than answers.
The New Jersey legislature is working quickly to pass this enabling legislation, known as the “New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act” (NJCREAMMA) (S21/A21).
A key New Jersey Senate committee approved a bill on Monday to implement marijuana regulations following voter approval of an adult-use legalization referendum last week. And members of an Assembly panel are currently debating a companion proposal, with a vote expected soon.
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