Let Cops Smoke Weed

In Portland, wannabe cops have to be weed-free for a year, citing “federal law.” That’s ridiculous.

OF VICE AND MEN: Portland police officers aren’t allowed to use cannabis because it’s federally illegal. (Brian Burk)
By Lucas Manfield

Problem: The Portland police can’t find recruits.

Idea: Let cops smoke weed.

Portland’s police staffing shortage isn’t because the city “defunded the police”—the Police Bureau’s budget remains stable, rising to $249 million in 2022. It’s that the bureau, like police departments across the country, has struggled for years to hire officers in an improving economy. A hiring freeze amid a flurry of retirements in 2020 didn’t help.

Facing this hiring crunch, the Portland Police Bureau has lowered its standards. In 2019, then-Chief Danielle Outlaw began welcoming applicants without college degrees—and even with beards.

So let’s take it a step further. Let cops do what other Oregonians have been doing, legally, for years: get off work, flop on the couch, and smoke a J.

Portland won’t even be the first. The New York Police Department announced it would stop drug testing in July (although it quickly reversed course). The NYPD does have a more liberal policy for recruits, however. “Prior use is not an automatic disqualifier,” its recruiting website says. In Portland, wannabe cops have to be weed-free for a year, citing “federal law.” That’s ridiculous. Cannabis is legal in Oregon. Let the people who enforce the law enjoy its freedoms.

See all 13 Big Ideas to Save Portland here.

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