Jersey City, New Jersey’s second largest city, has filed a federal lawsuit against the state to allow it to fire and screen police officers who use marijuana. The complaint appears to ignore an exception to federal firearms policies that may apply in this case.
In accordance with New Jersey’s cannabis legalization law, the attorney general of New Jersey released revised policies on drug testing for law enforcement agencies earlier this year. This prevented police officers from being tested for cannabis use while off duty. At least two Jersey City police officers have had their jobs restored after they were fired due to positive THC test .
James Shea and Jersey City’s public safety director filed a new lawsuit on Monday asking for a court to declare federal law overrides New Jersey’s marijuana law and the Attorney General’s testing policy. The complaint cites a federal law that prohibits marijuana users from obtaining firearms or ammunition.
Steven Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City who is running to be governor, stated on social media, “the same federal laws that Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, was indicted for with regard to firearms.” He was referring to federal charges that have been brought against him because he allegedly had a gun and consumed cocaine.
In his blog post, the mayor stated that “there is no way to confirm if cannabis was consumed an hour, day or week prior to a shift.”
He wrote that “no city in NJ has supported cannabis more than any other, but we also need to use common sense.”
It is impossible to know if Cannabis was consumed an hour, day or week prior to a shift. A police officer’s questionable judgment call that results in a positive test will expose the entire city to massive liability. No city in NJ is more supportive of cannabis…
Steven Fulop 16 October 2023 HTML0
The lawsuit claims that Jersey City, its employees, and the city itself are required to violate federal laws “because they are required to, at a minimum, provide ammunition to police officers who are known to be cannabis users.”
However, a reading of the federal firearms policy suggests that a different standard is applied when firearms distributed by government agencies.
This is the federal policy on marijuana and firearms:
It is illegal to sell or dispose of firearms or ammunition if you know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the person is an addict or an unlawful user of controlled substances …”
It is illegal for anyone who is addicted or an unlawful user of controlled substances to ship, transport, or own firearms or ammunition in commerce or interstate commerce.
Here’s an example of the exception applicable to local law enforcers:
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the transport, shipment, receipt or possession of firearms or ammunition that are imported, sold, shipped or issued to or for the use by the United States, any agency or department thereof, or any state or department or agency or political subdivision thereof.
The lawsuit also claims that police who use marijuana are themselves guilty of felonies, because “they must possess and receive ammunition and a firearm in order to become a police officer [ sic].
It is true that any New Jersey resident who possesses or uses marijuana, which is still a Schedule I controlled drug, technically violates federal law.
On Tuesday, city officials held a news conference to discuss the filing of the suit.
Jersey City Police Department terminated several officers for positive THC metabolite test results and refused to accept the state policy that allows cannabis use off duty. Two administrative law judges have, most recently, in August, ruled against Jersey City and has ordered the reinstatement, with backpay, of two police officers who were fired.
According to the guidance of the attorney general, police officers may still be subjected to a THC test if they have a reasonable suspicion that cannabis was used during their work hours or if requiring federal law is in place. It states that “Agencies are required to conduct drug tests when there is a reasonable suspicion” that a police officer is using a controlled substance illegally, or is under the influence. This includes unregulated marijuana and cannabis.
As officials from Jersey City stressed at a press conference on Tuesday, there is no reliable test to determine whether an officer’s performance is affected by cannabis. Officials said that allowing law enforcement officers to smoke marijuana puts the public at risk, and could expose the city to legal liability.
In recent years, federal courts have addressed the issue of marijuana and gun ownership. However, they’ve reached different conclusions.
Earlier this week, a federal appellate court panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Eleventh Circuit heard oral arguments in a case involving gun ownership by medical cannabis patients. Plaintiffs in that case are appealing the ruling of a lower court judge that upheld federal prohibition.
, however, ruled that in August, the federal prohibition on firearms for cannabis users was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court could take up this issue if there is a disagreement between the two courts.
The Department of Justice informed the Eleventh Circuit it felt the Fifth Circuit ruling had been “incorrectly determined,”, and asserted at oral argument that “there were some reasons to doubt the foundations” of this decision.
Several district courts have also overruled the federal prohibition.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma decided in February that the prohibition against people who use cannabis from possessing firearms is unconstitutional . The judge stated that the federal government’s justification for maintaining the law was “concerning.”
In U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a judge ruled in April that banning people who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional–and it said that the same legal principle also applies to the sale and transfer of guns, too.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent a letter shortly before the Eleventh Circuit’s hearing to Arkansas officials, stating that the recently passed law allowing medical cannabis patients obtain concealed carry firearm licenses, “creates an unacceptable threat,” and could compromise the state’s federally approved alternative gun licensing policy.
issued a warning after Minnesota’s Governor signed a bill legalizing cannabis into law in may. The agency reminded that those who use marijuana are prohibited from owning or purchasing guns and ammunition until the federal prohibition is lifted.
ATF will issue an advisory in 2020 that specifically targets Michigan and requires gun sellers conduct federal background checks for all unlicensed buyers. It said Michigan’s cannabis laws allowed “habitual marijuana consumers” and other disqualified persons to obtain firearms without a license.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden, who has been indicted over a charge that he bought a gun during a period when it was revealed that he used crack cocaine, have cited the previous court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal ban and argued that this applies to their case.
Two Republican members of Congress have introduced two bills in this session, focusing on marijuana and gun policy.
Rep. Brian Mast, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, introduced legislation in May that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has promised to attach that legislation to the bipartisan marijuana banking bill, which advanced out of committee in December and is awaiting floor action.
Mast is also co-sponsoring in this session a separate Bill from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms.
The full complaint that the city filed in federal court on Monday:
Poll Finds Decline In Support For Marijuana Banking Bill, But 55% Still Want To See Congress Pass It
The post Jersey City Sues State Officials over Policy Allowing Off Duty Marijuana Usage By Police, Citing Federal Gun Policy concerns first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
