In the most significant decision to date in the medical marijuana context, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently confirmed that a plaintiff under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”) can state a viable claim for discrimination related to lawful use of medical marijuana. On March 10, 2020, the Supreme Court in Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. (A-91-18) affirmed the judgment of the New Jersey Appellate Division allowing a plaintiff’s LAD claim based on his allegation that he was terminated for lawful medical marijuana use to proceed to the merits.
In Wild, the plaintiff, a licensed funeral home director, alleged that he lawfully (and privately) used medical marijuana during non-work hours to treat his cancer. His employer learned that he was using medical marijuana and, as plaintiff alleges, terminated him without attempting to discuss an accommodation. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit alleging that his termination was unlawful disability discrimination under LAD. At the trial court level, the funeral home defendant filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that under the Compassionate Use Act (the statute allowing medical marijuana in New Jersey), N.J.S.A. 24:6I-14, employers were not required to accommodate an employee who used medical marijuana. The trial court agreed and dismissed the plaintiff’s LAD claim.
New Jersey’s efforts to legalize adult use recreational cannabis officially moved from legislative to electoral. Senator President Stephen Sweeney 
On September 25, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1595, the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. The legislation is intended to allow the cannabis industry to have access to financial services and to enhance public safety by reducing the industry’s reliance on cash. It provides a safe harbor for financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, and insurers, to serve cannabis-related businesses operating under state law without the threat of regulatory backlash or criminal prosecution.
On Monday, the New Jersey Department of Health announced that it is seeking new applicants to operate 108 additional Alternative Treatment Centers – 
As a recreational cannabis bill in the New Jersey legislature stalls, federal legislation directed at expanding the cannabis industry’s access to banking and insurance services advances in Congress. On March 28, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services approved H.R. 1595, the 
Earlier this week, Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Steven Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senator Nicholas Scutari and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano jointly announced an agreement on the major outstanding issues for cannabis legalization: 
