Trucking Laws · New Jersey · November 10, 2026

Truckers: New Jersey Bill Would Ban Off-Duty Marijuana for CDL Holders

By Big Rig Daily Staff

Image caption: Illustration: AI-generated illustration, not a photo of the people, vehicles or places in this story. It shows a truck driver carrying a lunch cooler and thermos past a black semi-truck at a terminal fuel island.

A bill in the New Jersey Senate would bar truck drivers who hold a commercial driver's license from using recreational marijuana at any time while employed, on duty or off, Shore News Network reports. The same rule would cover law enforcement officers, first responders and heavy-equipment operators. The proposal is a bill, not a law.

Senate Bill S4685 was introduced Oct. 1. Assemblyman Larry Wainstein introduced an identical companion bill, A5649, on Oct. 19. The Senate bill has been referred to the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, and neither version has had a committee vote, according to the report.

What the bill would do

The bill would amend the 2021 law that created New Jersey's legal cannabis market, known as CREAMMA. It bars anyone employed as a law enforcement officer, first responder, CDL driver or heavy equipment operator from using recreational cannabis "at any time during the course of the person's employment whether on or off duty," according to the bill text cited by the outlet.

Employers could run random drug tests to enforce the ban and use pre-employment screening to turn away applicants. The heavy-equipment category covers machinery weighing at least 5,000 pounds. Either version would take effect immediately if signed into law.

How current law works

Recreational marijuana has been legal in New Jersey for five years. Under current law, an employer can ban marijuana at work and discipline anyone impaired on the job. A positive test alone is not enough to fire someone or pull a job offer, because traces can stay in the body for days or weeks after any effect wears off, the report says.

The law calls for a physical evaluation by a certified Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert along with a drug test to prove impairment. Shore News Network reports the state has never finalized that certification program.

Two sides

Police chiefs have pushed for a carve-out since legal sales began in 2022, arguing that officers who carry guns and drive emergency vehicles cannot be held to a vague standard. Business groups have made a similar case for construction sites and warehouses.

Supporters of the current law say the bill would punish people who are sober at work for something legal at home. Forbes contributor Alonzo Martinez wrote that a positive test "may establish prior cannabis use without establishing whether an employee was impaired while working."

What it means for truck drivers

Many commercial drivers already face federal Department of Transportation drug testing, which New Jersey law cannot override, the outlet notes. The biggest changes would fall on local police, municipal and county first responders and private equipment operators now covered by state protections. The bill also does not spell out how it would interact with the state's medical marijuana law.

Big Rig Daily has also covered a trucker petition over off-duty random drug tests.

FAQ

Is this a law now?

No. S4685 and its companion A5649 are bills. Neither has had a committee vote.

Who would be covered?

CDL drivers, law enforcement officers, first responders and operators of heavy equipment weighing at least 5,000 pounds.

Does it change federal DOT testing?

No. New Jersey law cannot override federal Department of Transportation testing.

Should what a commercial driver does on a day off be any of an employer's business?

Sources: Shore News Network, New Jersey Legislature, S4685.

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