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Commission revises drug- and medical-marijuana-related screening language, rejects stricter 'habitual use' definition
Summary
The commission adopted revised language clarifying disqualifying drug and alcohol history and adding a one-year post-expiration limit for medical-marijuana cards, while rejecting a proposed, more detailed definition of "habitual use."
The Berkeley County Deputy Sheriff Civil Service Commission updated its preliminary application-screening language to clarify standards for drug and alcohol use and to address medical-marijuana cards. Commissioners adopted new wording for the section governing illegal substance use and alcohol, and approved an amendment to require that, for applicants who previously held a state medical-marijuana card, "one year must have passed since the expiration date of any medical-marijuana card" before eligibility is considered. Commissioners framed that change as an effort to align screening with federal prohibitions on marijuana for certain positions while making expectations clear for applicants. The commission considered and rejected a separate, more prescriptive definition of "habitual use" that would have enumerated factors such as frequency or specific time windows. Commissioners said they preferred to leave assessment of drug histories to case-by-case investigator determinations rather than a narrowly defined threshold. The commission voted to adopt the revised language for the preliminary-requirements section (section 4.1 c and subsection d as discussed) and to decline adoption of the proposed habitual-use language; the votes carried by voice vote.
