DEA - DEA Missteps In Marijuana Firing Jersey City Cops Against Mayor's Cannabis Crackdown And More | Benzinga
Jersey City Cops Fight Back Against Mayor's Cannabis Crackdown
A new legal push from two Jersey City police officers who were terminated after testing positive for marijuana suggests that a motive behind Mayor Steven Fulop's (D) decision to penalize law enforcement officers for consuming cannabis off-duty, is to secure additional support from conservative voters, crucial for his upcoming bid for the gubernatorial campaign, reported Marijuana Moment.
The move follows Fulop’s earlier announcement that the city would dismiss any officers who tested positive for THC, despite New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin’s guidance from February on drug testing rules statewide under which police officers will no longer be tested for cannabis unless they're suspected of using or being under the influence while on duty or if their position requires federal drug testing.
To that end, Jersey City filed a lawsuit in federal court in October, to establish policies for screening and terminating police officers based on cannabis use.
Jersey City police officers Nora Mansour and Omar Polanco argue in the complaint filed last week that the unlawful employment policy is a ruse to bring attention to him and his gubernatorial campaign to the detriment of Jersey City workers and taxpayers "who are know [sic] footing the bill of hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorneys fees.”
DEA Under Fire: Agency's Cannabis-Related Firing
In a brief submitted to a fed Court of Appeals last week, attorney Matt Zorn for Anthony Armour, a DEA special agent of 16 years who was fired in 2019 after testing positive for THC, disputed the agency’s use of "undeniably ...