After reading “Maine law enforcement agencies struggle to get new recruits in the door,” (Jan. 7) it is clear that there are many reasons police departments are struggling to hire new officers, and just as many solutions are needed. But one solution not mentioned in the article is to let police officers responsibly use cannabis in their personal time.
Currently, the Portland Police Department prohibits officers from using cannabis, and I assume that policy is widespread. This is surely keeping some potential applicants away, as Gallup reports that 30% of Americans ages 18-34 acknowledge they use cannabis.
We legalized marijuana in 2016, so there is no good reason to treat off-duty marijuana consumption any differently from off-duty alcohol consumption. Portland’s police procedures manual says the ban is because the use and possession of recreational THC products remains unlawful under federal law. But other states that have also legalized cannabis, such as New Jersey, officially allow police officers to use cannabis while off duty and have not faced any problem with federal authorities.
I hope Maine police departments start treating alcohol and cannabis equally, like the rest of the state already has.
Sam Tracy
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.