NYPD’s blunt decision: No more marijuana testing for police officers
By
Larry Celona,
Joe Marino and
Tina Moore
July 13, 2022 3:54pm
Updated
NYPD’s blunt decision: No more marijuana testing for police officers
Pot testing for NYPD police officers has gone up in smoke.
The city has ordered the country’s largest police department to stop testing cops for marijuana use, officials said.
“The New York City Law Department has directed the NYPD to cease all random, scheduled and pre-employment testing for marijuana,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Department will continue to administer marijuana screenings to personnel when there is indication of impairment and is reviewing its current policies in light of this directive.”
Previously, a police officer would be automatically fired if they tested positive for marijuana, a process referred to as being “doled out” in policespeak.
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But The Post obtained a memo from the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of legal matters dated July 11 that states “starting immediately, the department should only drug test a member of service for marijuana if there is reasonable suspicion that the member is impaired by marijuana on the job.”
The memo cites a citywide order that came out in April prohibiting agencies from testing employees for marijuana because a test can’t determine whether the person used the drug on the job or on their personal time.
The memo points out that cops can still be tested for other drugs.
According to an NYPD spokesman, the department will “continue to administer marijuana screenings to personnel when there is indication of impairment.”Getty Images/iStockphoto
The NYPD will officially stop testing police officers for marijuana use.Christopher Sadowski
Not all members of the department gave the change a high grade.
“I don’t agree with it at all, but I’m an old-time cop,” one police officer with decades on the job said. “I think it sets a bad example. What’s next, shooting heroin?”
A Manhattan cop with more than two decades on the job agreed and added that he believed the NYPD was making the move to lower standards so more candidates could be hired to make up for a jump in recent retirements.
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“This is unreal,” a police officer with more than two decades on the job said, initially questioning if the end to pot testing was “fake news.”
“This is all for people who can’t get into the academy because they test positive for marijuana,” the cop said. “I guess you’re going to rehire all the people who doled out? This department is going downhill. What happens if the person shoots and kills somebody and they find out they were high on marijuana?”
By
Larry Celona,
Joe Marino and
Tina Moore
July 13, 2022 3:54pm
Updated
NYPD’s blunt decision: No more marijuana testing for police officers
Pot testing for NYPD police officers has gone up in smoke.
The city has ordered the country’s largest police department to stop testing cops for marijuana use, officials said.
“The New York City Law Department has directed the NYPD to cease all random, scheduled and pre-employment testing for marijuana,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Department will continue to administer marijuana screenings to personnel when there is indication of impairment and is reviewing its current policies in light of this directive.”
Previously, a police officer would be automatically fired if they tested positive for marijuana, a process referred to as being “doled out” in policespeak.
00:0201:21
But The Post obtained a memo from the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of legal matters dated July 11 that states “starting immediately, the department should only drug test a member of service for marijuana if there is reasonable suspicion that the member is impaired by marijuana on the job.”
The memo cites a citywide order that came out in April prohibiting agencies from testing employees for marijuana because a test can’t determine whether the person used the drug on the job or on their personal time.
The memo points out that cops can still be tested for other drugs.
According to an NYPD spokesman, the department will “continue to administer marijuana screenings to personnel when there is indication of impairment.”Getty Images/iStockphoto
The NYPD will officially stop testing police officers for marijuana use.Christopher SadowskiNot all members of the department gave the change a high grade.
“I don’t agree with it at all, but I’m an old-time cop,” one police officer with decades on the job said. “I think it sets a bad example. What’s next, shooting heroin?”
A Manhattan cop with more than two decades on the job agreed and added that he believed the NYPD was making the move to lower standards so more candidates could be hired to make up for a jump in recent retirements.
66
What do you think? Post a comment.
“This is unreal,” a police officer with more than two decades on the job said, initially questioning if the end to pot testing was “fake news.”
“This is all for people who can’t get into the academy because they test positive for marijuana,” the cop said. “I guess you’re going to rehire all the people who doled out? This department is going downhill. What happens if the person shoots and kills somebody and they find out they were high on marijuana?”
