The past 13+ years in New Jersey have seen a boom in marijuana legalization laws, including the medical marijuana law, the Jake Honig Compassionate Use Medical Cannabis Act, and the recreational marijuana law, the Cannabis Regulatory Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act. Predictably, attorneys in the state of New Jersey have also seen a boom in clients questioning the meaning of these laws, which may ultimately end in additional litigation between employees and employers (and has already). 

Background on Marijuana Legalization

Medical marijuana legalization began in New Jersey in January 2009, when then-Governor Jon Corzine signed the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act into law, and since then, the use of medical marijuana has been expanded to treat a myriad of physical and mental health conditions, from cancer to chronic pain to gastrointestinal diseases to depression and anxiety. Legalization of recreational marijuana had been championed by high-profile New Jersey legislators and activists, which culminated in the November 2020 election where New Jersey citizens voted to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use as well. Along with these rapidly changing laws, lawyers have fielded countless questions from clients about how legalization affects their workforce, including questions regarding employers’ obligations to provide accommodations to disabled employees using medical marijuana for treatment, the enforcement of drug-free workplace policies and propriety of certain drug-testing protocols, and the interplay between New Jersey’s marijuana laws and federal laws that still criminalize marijuana use and possession. 

What You Need to Know About Medical Marijuana