With the recent legalization of recreational cannabis in New Jersey, there has been a significant shift in the legal landscape surrounding its use and impact on various aspects of society, including employment. While businesses may not have to worry about federal laws changing too quickly, they do have to keep up with the fast pace of state laws and regulations. As an employee or employer in the Garden State, understanding the interplay between cannabis and employment law is crucial. In this article, we will explore the implications of cannabis legalization on workplace policies, drug testing and employee rights in New Jersey.

Legalization of Cannabis in New Jersey

In November 2020, New Jersey residents voted in favor of the legalization of adult-use cannabis. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act (NJCREAMMA) was subsequently enacted to regulate the cultivation, distribution and use of cannabis in the state. While NJCREAMMA allows employers to randomly drug test, screen applicants and do routine testing of current employees, it is limited to testing for marijuana use during work hours. In addition, in order to find misconduct of cannabis use by an employee, the "ordinary" test(s) and the "expert" both have to find the employee was impaired during work hours—which is intricate in itself. Unlike alcohol, marijuana can remain in a person's blood system for a long period of time. Intoxication experts will be grappled with in the forthcoming sections, but concrete guidelines have yet to be released by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC).