Joshua Bauchner Ansell Law co-chair of the Litigation Department, head of the Controlled Substances and Regulatory Law Department, and a member of the Community Association and Bankruptcy departments. He devotes his practice to complex commercial, class action, bankruptcy-related and securities litigation
The NJ Monitor writes
The first battle in the war over whether New Jersey law enforcement officers can use cannabis when they’re off duty is over, and the cops who want to partake in legal weed are winning.
Recent decisions from a state administrative law judge and the Civil Service Commission found in favor of a Jersey City cop who was fired after she used cannabis, with the judge ruling against the city’s claim that it can fire officers even if they use the substance legally and not on duty.
The decisions are significant not just because they appear to be the first to wade into this controversy after a handful of local leaders came out against letting their officers partake in legal weed. They are also noteworthy because Jersey City’s Democratic mayor, Steve Fulop, is seeking to become the state’s next governor. Fulop has ignored a 2022 memo issued by Attorney General Matt Platkin that says cops can use cannabis when they’re off duty.
The attorney for the officer in question did not respond to a request for comment. He is also representing three other Jersey City police officers who were fired after using cannabis. Those three cases have yet to make it to the Civil Service Commission.
Joshua Bauchner, a Woodland Park-based lawyer who specializes in civil and cannabis litigation, called the city’s actions here “distasteful.”
“It’s a travesty that Jersey City would press this case. There’s no rational basis for it,” Bauchner said.
