Decriminalization of marijuana in relation to police recruitment has become an issue over the past few years. With marijuana being legalized in several states and police departments facing challenges in recruitment of candidates, some police departments are changing their “marijuana standard,” which typically disqualifies any applicant who has used marijuana. For this discussion board, you will decide if you support or are against police departments lowering their marijuana standard in order to recruit police candidates. For more information on this subject, read the High Standards? article (click on “View the full report here” at the bottom of the page) that focuses on the Baltimore Police Department.
Take a position. Do you agree or disagree that police departments should lower their marijuana standard to recruit candidates? Why or why not?
First, title your initial post either “Police departments should lower their marijuana standard” or “Police departments should not lower their marijuana standard”.
Then, make your case. Provide rationale supported by research to defend your stance.
In your response to two of your peers, identify any issues with their stance and suggest ways that these issues may be addressed. Respond to one peer who has the same stance as you and one peer who has the opposite stance. Remember to always be respectful when replying to peers, even if you do not agree with their stance and/or rationale.
Reference
Loewentheil, N. (2017). High Standards? Reassessing the use of marijuana standards to screen police recruits in maryland. The Abell Report, 30(7), 1–16. Retrieved from https://www.abell.org/publications/high-standards.
To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric document.