• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Time to address the status of women in policing today
        Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to...
        Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide...
        Michigan lieutenant completes DoorDash delivery for pregnant driver...
        South Carolina woman diagnosed with brain tumor thanks to traffic stop
    • Labor
      • LAPD union proposes police stop responding to non-emergency calls
        Florida’s recruitment program lures Chicago police officers to the...
        Staffing shortages plague Cleveland police as record number leave the...
        New Orleans interim police chief aims to hire civilians in time for...
        “Anyone can get this job”: Memphis police lowered hiring...
    • Tech
      • Crypto crime investigations
        Austin Police Department launches non-emergency artificial...
        iPhone crash detection feature helps deputies rescue driver from canal
        Nebraska State Patrol uses drone technology to improve traffic flow...
        Dayton greenlights police access to private security camera footage
    • Training
      • U.S. trails in police training
        Denver police recruit has leg amputated after training drill
        Defunding vs. refunding public services
        Apathy is not the problem — leadership is
        Train more effectively with steel targets
    • Policy
      • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy...
        Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
        Ohio bill would lower minimum age to become a police officer to 18 to...
        Utah bill would allow people with “invisible conditions” to alert...
        Speaking up for K-9 colleagues
    • Health/Wellness
      • Nonprofit offers telehealth therapy to upstate New York first...
        A California police department’s new wellness unit aims to improve...
        Massachusetts police department prioritizes officers’ mental health...
        My poor coping strategies
        Heart health
    • Community
      • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of...
        “It was an honor to serve with her”: Kansas first responders...
        Chicago police cook with children to build community relationships
        Wisconsin teen fighting brain cancer becomes police officer for a day
        Texas law enforcement agencies team up to fight cancer
    • Offbeat
      • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls...
        Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot...
        Suspect hiding in bathtub in Florida calls 9-1-1 to send deputies to...
        Person in ‘Scream’ costume frightens California community,...
        “Brave and honest” toddler rats out fugitive hiding in Kentucky...
    • We Remember
      • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to...
        Farewell to a “living legend”: Oldest law enforcement officer in...
        “Officer Becerra will never be forgotten”: Colorado police...
        “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
  • On the Job
    • Time to address the status of women in policing today
      Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to...
      Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide...
      Michigan lieutenant completes DoorDash delivery for pregnant driver...
      South Carolina woman diagnosed with brain tumor thanks to traffic stop
  • Labor
    • LAPD union proposes police stop responding to non-emergency calls
      Florida’s recruitment program lures Chicago police officers to the...
      Staffing shortages plague Cleveland police as record number leave the...
      New Orleans interim police chief aims to hire civilians in time for...
      “Anyone can get this job”: Memphis police lowered hiring...
  • Tech
    • Crypto crime investigations
      Austin Police Department launches non-emergency artificial...
      iPhone crash detection feature helps deputies rescue driver from canal
      Nebraska State Patrol uses drone technology to improve traffic flow...
      Dayton greenlights police access to private security camera footage
  • Training
    • U.S. trails in police training
      Denver police recruit has leg amputated after training drill
      Defunding vs. refunding public services
      Apathy is not the problem — leadership is
      Train more effectively with steel targets
  • Policy
    • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy...
      Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
      Ohio bill would lower minimum age to become a police officer to 18 to...
      Utah bill would allow people with “invisible conditions” to alert...
      Speaking up for K-9 colleagues
  • Health/Wellness
    • Nonprofit offers telehealth therapy to upstate New York first...
      A California police department’s new wellness unit aims to improve...
      Massachusetts police department prioritizes officers’ mental health...
      My poor coping strategies
      Heart health
  • Community
    • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of...
      “It was an honor to serve with her”: Kansas first responders...
      Chicago police cook with children to build community relationships
      Wisconsin teen fighting brain cancer becomes police officer for a day
      Texas law enforcement agencies team up to fight cancer
  • Offbeat
    • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls...
      Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot...
      Suspect hiding in bathtub in Florida calls 9-1-1 to send deputies to...
      Person in ‘Scream’ costume frightens California community,...
      “Brave and honest” toddler rats out fugitive hiding in Kentucky...
  • We Remember
    • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to...
      Farewell to a “living legend”: Oldest law enforcement officer in...
      “Officer Becerra will never be forgotten”: Colorado police...
      “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
  • Between the Lines
    • The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
      The rule of law is worthless without order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Policy

NYPD backpedals on decision to end marijuana testing for officers

APB Team Published July 15, 2022 @ 5:24 pm PDT

iStock.com/KLH49

The NYPD announced recently that it would stop testing job applicants or police officers for marijuana use, following a memo from the city Law Department citing a legal finding that the practice is no longer legal — but then quickly backpedaled on the decision.

“The New York City Law Department has directed the NYPD to cease all random, scheduled and pre-employment testing for marijuana,” an NYPD spokesperson said early on July 13. “The Department will continue to administer marijuana screenings to personnel when there is indications of impairment and is reviewing its current policies in light of this directive.”

However, the department reversed itself two hours later, stating that it was in talks with the Law Department “over conflicts with the new state law and pre-existing federal law,” per the New York Daily News.

“While these discussions continue, there is no change in NYPD policies, procedures, or testing protocols regarding the use of Marijuana by uniformed members of the service,” a police spokesperson stated.

NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell also issued a memo to commanders, assuring that the department would maintain its drug-testing policy.

“Existing department policies that prohibit the use of marijuana remain in effect. Members of the service are not permitted to use cannabis on or off duty and will continue to be subject to random, scheduled, and for-cause drug screening,” Sewell said.

The proposed policy is a result of the state’s 2021 Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which legalized recreational marijuana use for individuals aged 21 and over.

The Law Department memo reads: “The rationale behind this determination is that there is no test for marijuana that conclusively determines current intoxication, making it impossible to determine by drug test alone whether an employee has tested possible for marijuana because of improper use on the job or use during statutorily protected off-hours use.”

Some NYPD members did not favor the potential policy shift.

“I don’t agree with it at all, but I’m an old-time cop,” one police officer told the New York Daily News. “I think it sets a bad example. What’s next, shooting heroin?”

Another officer questioned whether the change was “fake news,” and raised concerns about the damaging effects of such a potential policy.

“This is all for people who can’t get into the academy because they test positive for marijuana,” a Manhattan officer 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?”

The NYPD later reassured the public in a statement that it will continue to test its officers for cannabis and other drugs.

Categories: Policy Tags: marijuana use, job applicant, drug screening, recreational marijuana, legal affairs, fake news, NYPD, labor, Keechant Sewell, drug test

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy data
  • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls about planetary phenomenon
  • Crypto crime investigations
  • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of police officers and to educate the public
  • Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot pursuit” ever
  • Time to address the status of women in policing today
  • Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to class after campus mass shooting
  • Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide Illinois sheriff’s office with GPS location of car carrying abducted toddler
  • Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
  • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to support law enforcement families

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.