LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — A Louisiana police officer who was fired for testing positive for a marijuana metabolite recently got his job back.
Former Lafayette Police Department Officer Bernard Anderson argued before the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board that he was using CBD to help him sleep. Anderson stated that he stood on truth.
“Like I said, the only thing I can do is maintain my nerves inside and proceed forward, because at the end of the day I have nothing to lie for,” he said.
Last December, he completed a required drug screening and the test came back positive for marijuana metabolite. According to pre-hearing records, Anderson’s wife is a nurse and brought the CBD home from work.
One board member suggested Lafayette Consolidated Government reconsider its testing process.
“With the technology that’s available with something as innocent as sleep drops,” board member Christina Olivier added.
The board voted that Anderson’s firing was unjust.
“Bernard is a good officer. He passed the CVAS test. He does not smoke marijuana. He took some sleep medication which is an herbal supplement you can buy at Drug Emporium and for that he lost his job,” Anderson’s attorney Allyson Melancon stated.
Anderson’s mother, Sharon Pete, said she’s a former police officer. She said she can tell her son is glad it’s over.
“He’s relieved. He was squeezing me tight. He’s relieved,” Pete explained.
The board’s decision overturned Anderson’s termination and reinstated him with backpay.
“If the policy is going to be no CBD then they just need to say that and they need to educate their employees you can’t take CBD. That’s the end of story,” Melancon noted.
