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Some leaders are asking that the time frame recruits must abstain from marijuana use before being hired by a law enforcement agency be lowered from two years to six months
In Arizona , consumption of marijuana is prohibited within two years of appointment as an officer, meaning Huff would have to wait until January 2025 to become a recruit.
But Bullhead City Police Chief Robert Trebes pointed out that Huff consumed the cannabis after voters approved its recreational use in November 2020.
“So she did it while it was legal,” said the chief, who went before the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board last November to argue for a waiver. “And I think that’s a point to be recognized here.”
Trebes said he hired Huff instead as a police service aide and “in that time she’s been absolutely remarkable.”
“Her work ethics is great. She displays all the qualities that we could all agree we would want in law enforcement.”
AZ POST has been getting enough requests from law enforcement agencies for waivers of pre-employment marijuana use that the board last week gave staff the OK to pursue relaxing prior marijuana use down to six months from two years.
The last time the board updated this rule was in 2019, when it dropped the waiting period to the current two years from three. The updated rules also put no cap on prior marijuana use at any age and the way it was ingested no longer matters.
The intent of the board’s rule is to assure that an applicant does not have a pattern of drug abuse and allow enough time to show little likelihood drug use will not recur after hiring.
“My recommendation for your consideration is we go for a six-month window,” said Matt Giordano, executive director. “We would go to six months of the last use.
“The reason why I think six months is doable is it doesn’t eliminate it completely… Six months is not unheard of for a hiring process.”
Giordano said staff polled other POST agencies around the country on how they handled pre-employment drug use.
The 18 responses ran the gamut and staff could not find one consistent theme, he said.
“Historically Arizona has led the charge in this area,” Giordano said. “Routinely we set the standards nationally and people are looking to us to what we do and follow our lead.”
Source
https://www.police1.com/ariz-officials-seek-to-relax-marijuana-recruiting-policy
