On February 22, 2021, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act signed by the Governor in order legalize and regulate recreational cannabis use and possession for adults over the age of 21.
The Act extends the discrimination prohibitions to recreational marijuana users and prohibits employers from refusing to hire, discharging, or taking any “adverse action against any employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or other privileges of employment because that person does or does not smoke, vape, aerosolize or otherwise use cannabis items, unless the employer has a rational basis has a rational basis for doing so which is reasonably related to the employment, including the responsibilities that may require an employee or prospective employee to undergo a drug test upon a reasonable suspicion of an employee’s work responsibilities, or upon finding any observable signs of intoxication related to usage of a cannabis item, or following a work related accident subject to investigation by the employer and the employer mat utilize the results of that drug test when determining the appropriate employment action concerning the employee, including, but not limited to dismissal, suspension, demolition or other disciplinary action.
The Law will establish an industry that brings equity and economic opportunity to our communities, while establishing minimum standards for safe products and allowing law enforcement to focus their resources on real public safety matter.
