Las Vegas Judge Rules In Favor Of Former Cop Forced Out of Department For Using Cannabis

A Las Vegas Police department policy that bans employees from imbibing in legal cannabis is untenable, a district court judge ruled in a case involving a former officer who alleges he resigned after higher-ups threatened to terminate him for a positive THC test.

Elected judge Kathleen Delaney said Nevada law allowing adults to possess up to one ounce of cannabis flower or up to one-eighth ounce concentrated THC and use the plant during their time away from work should be respected — even for public sector employees, which include cops.

Delaney ruled Friday that 39-year-old Stewart Bowman, who served as a Las Vegas police officer from 2007 to 2018 before stepping down to avoid being fired for having THC in his blood, should be given backpay for the past three years and reinstated into the department.

Nevada has some of the strongest cannabis workplace protection laws in place among cannabis-legal states. The 2019 state legislature passed a measure to outlaw companies from disqualifying job candidates just because they test positive for marijuana.

In its defense, the Las Vegas police department contended a separate state law allowing public and private employers to uphold internal policies prohibiting the use of drugs — even those that are legal — should apply. Delaney agreed, which prompted Bowman’s attorneys to believe the case isn’t quite over yet.

While the police department will likely move forward with giving Bowman his backpay, he could still lose a department appeal on his reinstatement. In that case, Bowman would still make up the money he missed out on during the past three years, but wouldn’t get his police uniform back.

Marijuana advocates hope the decision encourages employers to protect against discrimination of employees who legally use the plant when they’re not working.

Liliana Reyna, a cannabis activist with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said while Delaney’s ruling “isn’t perfect,” it’s at least a step in the right direction.

“Cannabis is legal and people should never be punished for using it on their own time,” Reyna said. “But this plant has been stigmatized for over a century, and we’re still working as a society to untangle the mess.”