A union representing firefighters is claiming credit score for a New York Metropolis authorized directive ordering authorities businesses, together with the New York Metropolis Hearth Division (NYFD) and New York Police Division (NYPD) to stop drug testing staff for marijuana.
In a memo distributed to members on Thursday, the Uniformed Firefighters Affiliation (UFA) referenced a leaked doc from NYPD that mentioned how a evaluation of statute by the New York Metropolis Legislation Division (NYCLD) led to a dedication that it’s illegal for businesses to conduct pre-employment, random and scheduled screenings for THC.
UFA mentioned that it believes the directive is the product of the union’s inquiries to the town about drug testing coverage in mild of New York’s marijuana legalization legislation.
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NYPD initially launched a press release summarizing the authorized opinion and signaling that it could be implementing a change to its hashish testing coverage, accordingly. However in a follow-up assertion hours later, the division mentioned no adjustments have but been made and it could be consulting with the town about potential federal conflicts ensuing from the directive.
NYFD, in the meantime, despatched out its personal memo to its branches, stating that there shall be a coverage change in mild of the town’s authorized evaluation, however steering gained’t be made obtainable for one more two weeks. Within the interim, the union is urging members to “wait till the Division introduced the official adjustments earlier than contemplating any authorized leisure or medicinal marijuana use.”
Each NYPD and NYFD additionally emphasised that they might proceed to drug check staff who’re suspected of being intoxicated on the job.
These developments come greater than a yr after NYPD issued up to date steering to officers, notifying them that as a result of hashish was legalized for grownup use, they’re not in a position arrest adults 21 and older for merely utilizing marijuana in locations the place smoking tobacco is permitted.
Final yr, the state Division of Labor individually introduced in steering that New York employers are not allowed to drug check most staff for marijuana, with restricted exceptions. Even previous to the enactment of legalization, New York Metropolis officers had established a native ban on pre-employment drug testing for hashish.
With police particularly, there’s been some controversy of drug coverage because it respects hashish legal guidelines, together with in neighboring New Jersey following the state’s transfer to legalize.
In Might, New Jersey lawmakers launched a collection of payments meant to empower employers to punish staff—together with legislation enforcement and different first responders particularly— from utilizing marijuana off obligation in compliance with state legislation.
The laws was filed after a doc was launched by the state lawyer basic’s workplace explaining how New Jersey’s adult-use hashish legislation at the moment permits police to make use of marijuana when they don’t seem to be on the job.
Again in New York, retail hashish outlets haven’t but opened as regulators work to finalize guidelines and begin to approve licenses. Nonetheless, adults 21 and older can possess and publicly eat marijuana, in addition to present it to different adults so long as they aren’t being compensated.
Some unlicensed companies have reportedly been exploiting that gifting provision by promoting non-marijuana merchandise in alternate for “free” hashish. Regulators lately mentioned that they’ve issued dozens of warning letters to such companies.
Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia.