Marijuana sales for adults launched in New Jersey on Thursday to great fanfare—but a recent memo from the state attorney general clarifying that police can’t be punished for off-duty cannabis use is prompting some pushback. Regardless of the fallout, the state’s top prosecutor is standing by his office’s position, even in light of moves to defy the state policy by local officials. Ahead of the start of retail sales, Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) put out a memo last week clarifying that state law prohibits law enforcement agencies from taking adverse actions against police who use marijuana in compliance with state law off the clock. Reports on that policy clarification ruffled some feathers, with Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D) saying he expects to see legislation filed in his chamber to address the issue. And the chair of the Senate Budget Committee said he wants to “modify the law to match all the other states that have zero tolerance for use of off duty cannabis by police.” Gov. Phil Murphy (D), a pro-legalization official who celebrated the launch of adult-use sales on Thursday, signaled that he’s “open-minded” about a potential policy change targeting off-duty cannabis use by law enforcement. But while off-duty marijuana use by police might be seen as a problem by some officials, Senate President Nick Scutari (D) said recently that he’s opposed to explicitly banning law enforcement from using cannabis when they’re not working. Several GOP senators who sent a letter to the state’s top prosecutor expressing concerns about the law enforcement marijuana exemption cited the federal policy as a reason the state should continue to prohibit cops from consuming cannabis.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 04/22/2022 08:44:00