it's been well over a year since the launch of recreational weed sales in the Garden State yet questions remain as to who can and cannot consume the legal drug after a tumultuous debate over off-duty police officers last year the rules are now still too vague for firefighters and other First Responders and many have said that they are reluctant to be the test case when it comes to figuring out how exactly this law applies to them Brenda Flanagan reports were the guinea pigs so to speak where the where the Lab Rats that are gonna figure this out Steve mcconnellog fought Fires for years in Elizabeth he says firefighters and EMTs in New Jersey still drive through a haze of uncertainty over cannabis use even though weeds legal sold all over the state New Jersey's attorney general issued guidelines that allow Law Enforcement Officers to indulge while off duty as long as it doesn't hurt on-the-job performance but for other First Responders it remains murky how do we address that so there's so many uncertainties right now that we still don't have answers to I can't give one of my members a clear answer on you know can we do this and my my answer is what our legal team says is you know don't be the test case until there's more and I don't know when more comes the head of New Jersey's professional firefighters Association says nobody should come to work impaired by any substance but cannabis remains illegal under federal law for First Responders in Jersey that means looking to individual employers towns and EMS squads for guidance you know there's nothing that says a first responder can't use recreational Cannabis however it doesn't exonerate them from their local labor agreement drug testing policy rules and regulations the Department of Health also has not given us any Official Guidelines they are kind of leaving it up to every different agency to work on it themselves Paula Weiler's president of Jersey's EMS Council she's advised squads to consult lawyers and medical directors when setting cannabis policies it's created a patchwork a squad in Englewood may have a different policy than a squad in Verona which may be different than Tom's River which could be different than Keansburg or any other place in the state there's still no clear test to measure impairment from cannabis use and many first responder squads rely on volunteers who fit into a different legal category than career rescue workers but one former firefighter says as long as First Responders maintain a drug-free workplace they should be able to at least use medicinal cannabis I should have stroke our heart attack when I was like 28 30 easily but because I found this medication it took the stress the anxiety I slept naturally I lost over 120 pounds former Ocean County Firefighter Dan Jensen founded a non-profit called code 3 Outreach it partners with cannabis vendors like cure Leaf to sell merchandise and donate a portion to First Responders he's conducted seminars with 50 squads on how cannabis can benefit firefighters and EMTs but he's clear on responsible use I know a lot of people say oh I just had a beer on a truck I just took a puff I can get on a truck I personally don't believe in that that's not the way it should be because here we are trying to fight a stigma and you're going to give credit to the other side of the opposition on this issue meanwhile Jersey's Department of Community Affair says the fire safety commission's subcommittee on cannabis use by firefighters has not yet formulated a recommendation to the fire service but are having discussions towards that it's apparently a back burner issue I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News [Music]