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Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop defended his policy positions allowing a competitive cannabis market to develop while opposing police consuming cannabis off-duty.
At a Hudson County Chamber of Commerce event on his run to be Governor, Heady NJ asked him about his positions which seem in opposition to each other.
“We’re letting the free market decide the number of dispensaries. Most of the other municipalities have created an arbitrary cap not based on population, based on one person’s decision, the mayor,” Fulop explained. “It creates a political environment we’re trying to avoid.”
The process of establishing legal cannabis dispensaries has been difficult throughout New Jersey on the municipal level. There are indeed many reports of shadiness that have severely tarnished the process throughout the Garden State.
You could say it fits in the State’s culture of corruption.
In Jersey City, there are a few licenses owned by people too close to elected officials. For example, the Hudson County Clerk Junior Maldonado, the daughter of City Council President Joyce Watterman and Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker, among others, are dispensary license owners.
To Fulop and Jersey City’s credit, more dispensary owners who seem less politically connected have opened.
Jersey City never really resolved the distance issue some dispensary owners were angry about. However, the Council has imposed a moratorium on license applications. Thus, no new applicants can apply.
The Jersey City Council has already approved 46 cannabis dispensaries in the city, according to the city’s Department of Commerce map.
There are rumors that even among those, some might never open.
With such a competitive process, at least one dispensary will inevitably go out of business.
It’s also hard because many went through severe struggles and into debt to open. Some businesses expected more customers, too, even though their marketing efforts were not significant.
Federal Concerns of Cops With Guns Smoking Weed
Fulop also maintained his position that allowing the police to consume cannabis off-duty violates federal law since marijuana remains a Schedule I narcotic.
Jersey City has been consistently fighting this in court. Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) officers Norhan Mansour, Mackenzie Reilly, Montavious Patten, Richie Lopez, and Omar Polanco were fired for consuming cannabis and have fought it.
“Federal law prohibits police officers or prohibits anyone who tests positive for a Schedule 1 drug to carry a firearm. Us providing a firearm and allowing a person to test positive is counter to federal law. That’s the problem. If the fed law is changed, we’re comfortable with that,” he explained.
Fulop argued that federal law trumps the state law enacted by New Jersey to allow a legal cannabis market.
“Taxpayers would ultimately be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars if there was something that happened and we operated counter to federal law. I think we’re being responsible here,” he claimed.
State Versus Federal Jurisdiction
The New Jersey Civil Service Commission most recently said the police could consume cannabis. But Fulop has nonetheless maintained his position and said the case is being appealed in federal court.
“I dont think that the rest of New Jersey doesn’t think there shouldn’t be carve-outs. Do you think if you had children and you gave them to a bus driver, and it’s ok if there’s no carve-outs for that? What if you call 911, and your ambulance showed up and the person tested for cannabis?” he asked. “How would you feel if you called 911 and the police officer showed up and he tested positive for cannabis, and you don’t know if he used cannabis an hour before he got on duty or 5 days? Would you feel good about that?”
It is true that there is no equivalent of an alcohol breathalyzer test to measure approximately when someone consumed cannabis. Other politicians have raised concerns about construction workers doing dangerous consuming for the same reason.
“I think the majority of people agree with me,” Fulop declared. “Maybe not the press because you guys have spun it in a certain way. You cannot have a firearm if you test positive for a Schedule I drug. Unfortunately, cannabis is still a Schedule I drug.”
Thus, Fulop does not seem to believe adults can be trusted to consume cannabis responsibly the way many drink alcohol responsibly.
The contradiction between federal law and the state-legal adult-use cannabis markets has existed since the beginning of the Colorado market. During the Obama Administration, the Cole Memo protected the state legal markets from federal interference. The United States Congress has also passed measures as part of federal budgetary legislation preventing the U.S. Department of Justice from going after state-legal businesses.
