Jersey City officials have argued that federal law bars anyone who owns a firearm from using cannabis, a claim the union disputes. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor)
Lawyers representing a Jersey City police union say the city’s federal lawsuit that targets New Jersey for allowing Garden State police officers to use cannabis is nothing more than a “political agenda masquerading” as a civil complaint and should be dismissed.
Attorney Peter Paris, who filed the motion to dismiss the case late Wednesday on behalf of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, argues the city faces no real threat if it follows the state’s marijuana legalization law — known as the CREAMM Act — and permits its cops to use cannabis. The city wants a federal judge to allow it to fire officers who use cannabis while off duty.
“Plaintiffs claim a potential, hypothetical injury based on the novel notion that Public Safety Director James Shea hypothetically risks federal indictment for providing firearms and ammunition to Jersey City Police officers who consume cannabis off-duty in accordance with their rights under the New Jersey Constitution and the CREAMM Act,” Paris writes in the 19-page filing .