JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled on May 1, 2026, that two Jersey City police officers terminated for off-duty cannabis use must be reinstated to full duty and allowed to carry firearms. The court found that the terminations of Omar Polanco and Norhan Mansour violated state law and upheld earlier Civil Service Commission orders directing their reinstatement with back pay and benefits.

Polanco and Mansour were removed from their positions after testing positive for cannabinoids during random drug tests in September 2022 and were fired in March 2023. The officers acknowledged using legally regulated cannabis off duty and told officials they had purchased the product from the legal market. They were not accused of being impaired or using cannabis while on duty. After testing positive, the city suspended them before firing them.

The Jersey City Police Department argued that the federal Gun Control Act prohibits unlawful users of controlled substances from possessing firearms or ammunition, and that federal law preempted the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act. The state law bars discipline solely for off-duty regulated cannabis use unless there is evidence of on-duty impairment. The court rejected the department's preemption argument, finding no direct conflict between state and federal law and concluding that firearms issued for official police use fall under a federal exemption.

The court awarded the officers mitigated back pay, benefits, and seniority. In September 2024, both had been placed on modified duty without access to firearms. In March 2026, their attorney, Michael P. Rubas, filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court seeking the return of their police licenses and firearms. He said the officers have been reinstated but have not been issued their police licenses or firearm ID cards, and that each is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay. Rubas also said the officers must have their police licenses reissued by the state Police Training Commission before returning to typical posts, and that if the city cooperates, the officers could be reinstated to their previous positions within a week.

"I'm just so disgusted with Jersey City. We were very, very hopeful when the new Solomon administration came in that they would stop this nonsense because, quite frankly, Jersey City is blatantly violating the law, blatantly violating the Attorney General directives and taking adverse employment against these officers," Rubas said. He added: "When this is all said and done, this is going to cost the city millions of dollars."

Nathaniel Styer, communications director of the mayor's office, addressed the ruling in a statement. "The actions against these employees were taken under the previous administration," Styer said. "While we are reviewing the decision, we want to note that the previous policy does not represent the views and values of the Solomon Administration."