Jersey City loses third bid to fire police officer for using cannabis

Jersey City lost another round in its fight to bar cops from using cannabis after the state Civil Service Commission overturned the termination of a third officer who was fired for using marijuana.

The commission on Wednesday ordered the city to reinstate police officer Mackenzie Reilly, who had been fired in August 2023 after testing positive for cannabis during a random drug test. Reilly should also receive back pay and benefits, the commission ruled.

The state attorney general has said police officers cannot be disciplined for using legal cannabis while off duty, but the city has fired at least five officers for using the drug anyway. Attorneys for the city claim a federal law banning people who use cannabis from buying and owning firearms and ammunition applies to police officers.

The Civil Service Commission has now told the city to rehire three of the five officers it fired, but the city has not done so. The city faces a daily $200 fine if two of the officers are not rehired by next week, the commission ruled last month.

Wednesday’s decision follows a recommendation from Administrative Law Judge Matthew Miller on July 11 that Reilly get his job back. Miller noted that the judges who oversaw the cases of officers Omar Polanco and Norhan Mansour — the other two officers the city has been ordered to rehire — ruled that the state’s cannabis legalization law is not preempted by federal law.

“I understand Jersey City’s reticence in allowing marijuana users, especially chronic marijuana users, to possess weapons,” Miller wrote, adding, “In New Jersey, that ship has sailed.”

The details of Reilly’s case are spelled out in Wednesday’s decision: He smoked from a vape purchased at a Montclair dispensary in January 2023, was drug tested the next month, and was suspended in March after he tested positive for cannabinoids in his urine.

One unique issue in Reilly’s case is the city’s contention that he committed misconduct by not revealing on a form given to him when he was drug tested that he was using cannabis as a form of medication. But Miller noted that the cannabis Reilly bought that day was recreational, because he did not receive a medical marijuana card until a few weeks after the drug test.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the commissioners debated whether Reilly’s refusal to divulge this information was grounds for suspension based on misconduct and insubordination. Commissioner Daniel W. O’Mullan voted against reinstating Reilly over the drug test form issue and suggested he face a three-month suspension.