Maryland’s Biggest County Seeks To Loosen Marijuana Use Restrictions For Police Recruits Amid Staffing Shortage

Local officials in Maryland’s most populous county say they’re moving moving to loosen marijuana policies for would-be police officers in an effort to boost recruitment amid a staffing shortage.

During a briefing last week, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the police department currently has 166 vacancies and is expecting a “wave of anticipated retirements” in 2025. Part of the solution they’re proposing concerns cannabis-related eligibility requirements for recruits.

“To address this [shortage], we’ve increased officer pay, introduced a $20,000 signing bonus and hired a firm to assist with recruitment,” he said. “We’re also working to address other impediments to our recruitment, including past cannabis use.”

“Interestingly, past cannabis use is not a consideration in Virginia, so officers who can’t work in Montgomery County go across the river to Fairfax County, where they can work,” Elrich said. Law enforcement recruits in neighboring Washington, D.C. need to refrain from using marijuana for just three months before applying.

Elrich added that county officials have sent a letter to Gov. Wes Moore (D) about reforming the marijuana policy, and they will also be discussing the issue with the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission this month.

However, he said “thus far, this group has opposed making the changes that we need.”

A spokesperson for the governor’s office told Fox 5 that “Governor Moore’s top priority is the safety of all Marylanders, and that includes making sure we recruit and retrain qualified individuals to serve as police officers to protect the people of our state.”

“Currently, the governor is reviewing the letter from Montgomery County Executive Elrich, and will work in coordination with county and state officials to determine the best approach to addressing the concerns regarding the statewide police certification standards,” the spokesperson said.

It’s unclear what specific reform the county is proposing. Currently, people are ineligible for employment at the police department if they’ve used cannabis or any other controlled substances within the past three years.

Beyond recruitment issues, law enforcement agencies across the country have been reevaluating marijuana employment policies amid the legalization movement.

Last year a California Assembly committee rejected a Senate-passed bill that sought to roll back existing employment protections for law enforcement workers who legally use marijuana while off the job.

Prior to that, California law enforcement officials had already revised employment policies for police officers in 2023 to remove questions about job applicants’ prior marijuana use in accordance with a bill the governor signed into law.

In New Jersey last year, the state Civil Service Commission mandated that the Jersey City Police Department reinstate three officers who were terminated over their off-duty cannabis use. Attorney General Matt Platkin (D) had previously affirmed in a memo that the state’s legalization law permitted officers to use marijuana when off the job.

Also in 2023, Nevada officials adopted a proposal to amend hiring standards for police officers to allow job candidates who were previously disqualified for certain marijuana-related offenses to become eligible for law enforcement positions.

In 2020, just weeks before Arizona voters approved a legalization measure at the ballot, the state moved to relax limits on past cannabis use for people who want to become police officers, a move officials described as a modernization of existing policy as laws and societal views on the drug continue to evolve.

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