Howard County firefighters and experts ask delegation to permit off-duty medicinal cannabis use and change testing rules

Representatives of the International Association of Firefighters Local 2000, active and retired fire chiefs, and cannabis policy experts told the Howard County delegation they support HOCO 19-25 and sought amendments to align county workplace testing and discipline with modern understanding of cannabis pharmacology.

"This bill simply adds cannabis to the list of lawful medications for which a firefighter may be prescribed, nothing more, nothing less," said Matt Johnson, who identified himself as second vice president of IAFF Local 2000, speaking on behalf of more than 500 Howard County firefighters and lieutenants. He emphasized the testimony did not seek on-duty impairment or relaxed safety standards, but rather protection for off-duty medicinal use.

Testimony from department members and outside experts focused on three technical points raised repeatedly during the hearing: urine testing detects THC metabolites that can remain in the body for days to weeks and does not establish impairment; a statutory 12-hour pre-shift prohibition is not enforceable by toxicology because no test can reliably show when cannabis was last used; and objective performance-based impairment testing is a better method to identify on-duty impairment.

Paul Armentano, who testified as an expert on cannabis pharmacokinetics, said urinalysis "does not determine whether someone is impaired, nor can it determine when someone was last exposed to any controlled substance," and asked legislators to remove the 12-hour timing prohibition and instead bar use while on duty and require direct evidence of impairment for discipline.

Fire service witnesses from outside Howard County, including a battalion chief from Pittsburgh, described department policies that allow medical cannabis for personnel under carefully defined off-duty rules and reported no incidents of on-duty misuse under those policies.

Members of the delegation asked technical questions about the 12-hour window included in the current draft; Kevin Rohrer and others deferred to the IAFF representatives for the medical and testing details. Witnesses recommended alternative approaches such as performance-based cognitive testing apps and observational impairment protocols rather than reliance on ATP/urinalysis.

No formal vote on HOCO 19-25 was recorded in the portions of the hearing captured in the transcript. Witnesses said they had supplied written testimony and technical citations to the delegation.

The testimony relied on professional experience, departmental policy comparisons and pharmacology expertise presented to the delegation during the hearing.