New Jersey police officers legally using marijuana off-duty can’t be tossed off the force, a state appeals court ruled Friday, because state employment protections aren’t preempted in these cases by federal gun control law.
In a pair of unauthored decisions, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division found that the Jersey City Police Department couldn’t fire officers that were legally using pot off-duty, but that one officer who purchased marijuana from an illegal seller shouldn’t be reinstated.
In both cases the appeals panels ruled the city looking to fire or prevent an officer from returning couldn’t rely on federal ...