State Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued guidelines that allow law enforcement officers to use recreational cannabis while off duty as long as it doesn’t hurt on-the-job performance. But first responders are still not clear on the details.
“There’s so many uncertainties now that we still don’t have answers to,” said Steve McConlogue, who heads the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey. He advises that nobody should come to work impaired by any substance.
Cannabis remains illegal under federal law. For first responders in New Jersey, that means looking to individual employers — towns and EMS squads — for guidance.
“There’s nothing that says a first responder can’t use recreational cannabis. However, it doesn’t exonerate them from their local labor agreement, drug testing policy, rules and regulations,” McConlogue said.