NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that with only a few days until recreational marijuana sales begin on Thursday, he's open to prohibiting cops from smoking pot while off-duty.
"There’s no allowing anybody to show up impaired, whether you’re drinking or whether you’ve smoked weed," Murphy said. "Anybody who shows up impaired would be dealt with aggressively."
The issue arose after acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a memo last Thursday allowing off-duty officers to partake and not face any penalty under the state's new legal marijuana law.
Platkin said New Jersey police departments "may not take any adverse action against any officers because they do or do not use cannabis off duty."
Now state lawmakers and Murphy are mulling a solution.
"Would I be opened minded to a legislative fix that would address this? The answer is yes," he added.
The fear is that the police would be under a constant cloud of suspicion. Marijuana can linger in a person's system for weeks. There is no test to determine if someone is currently under the influence.
Democratic State Senator Paul Sarlo said lawmakers "need to protect our hard working law enforcement."
"I am a very pro-law enforcement legislator. This would have protected them as well because of the lack of testing to determine when or when not the marijuana was inhaled," he told WCBS 880's Sean Adams.
Sarlo said he worries that doubt could lead to questions of judgment and potentially lawsuits.
New Jersey voters approved the regulated sale of cannabis products to people age 21 and older in a constitutional amendment in November 2020. Recreational marijuana sales will go live starting Thursday.
Related
Related
