Firefighters, union and experts urge Howard County to allow access to medical cannabis while off duty

Firefighters, union leaders and outside experts told the Howard County delegation that HOCO 19-25 — a proposed local measure to protect firefighters who use state-authorized medical cannabis while off duty — should be amended to prevent disciplinary actions based only on positive toxicology for THC metabolites and to favor impairment-based evaluation.

“We are not advocating for impairment on the job nor does this bill allow that,” Matt Johnson, second vice president of IAFF Local 2000, said during testimony representing more than 500 Howard County firefighters and lieutenants. “This bill simply adds cannabis to the list of lawful medications for which a firefighter may be prescribed, nothing more, nothing less.”

Johnson told the panel that Howard County’s current practice of treating cannabis use as a disqualifying condition for employment is discriminatory, and he said the county is legally free to adopt more limited, impairment-focused workplace rules because the fire service is not uniformly subject to U.S. Department of Transportation drug-testing rules. He said the department has not conducted DOT drug testing in the fire department since at least 1991.

Outside experts and other fire officials urged safeguards that balance safety with employees’ access to medicine. Paul Armentano, a long-time cannabis policy researcher, testified that “Urine testing does not determine whether someone is impaired, nor can it determine when someone was last exposed to any controlled substance,” and he recommended removing a provision in the draft bill that would prohibit use within 12 hours before a shift because toxicology cannot reliably establish timing of use.

John Gardel, a battalion chief speaking for the International Association of Firefighters, described Pittsburgh’s policy allowing medical cannabis use off duty and said his department has seen improvements in personnel well-being since adopting such a policy. Other Howard County firefighters said medical cannabis helped them manage chronic pain, sleep problems and PTSD symptoms and urged the delegation to protect off-duty lawful medical use from being the sole basis for discipline.

Supporters proposed alternatives to urine screening, suggesting performance-based testing and daily fitness-for-duty checks. Armentano and others recommended cognitive-performance tools such as Druid or predictive safety apps that measure actual impairment against baseline performance rather than detecting metabolites.

Speakers also noted that other Maryland jurisdictions have moved away from pre-employment cannabis testing: Baltimore and Frederick County prohibit pre-employment cannabis testing, and the city of Annapolis has adopted guidelines resisting adverse actions absent evidence of impairment.

No formal vote on HOCO 19-25 occurred at the hearing. Delegates heard multiple hours of testimony from union representatives, active firefighters, labor advocates and an expert witness on cannabis testing methods and pharmacokinetics.