ALBANY, New York — Can a New York state trooper be fired for legally using cannabis at home, off duty? The union representing about 7,000 State Police troopers says no, and on October 29 it filed a petition in Albany County Supreme Court asking a judge to overturn the firing of a 12-year veteran and to declare that the State Police cannot dismiss troopers solely for lawful off-duty cannabis use, The Chief reported.

Source: The Chief

The case centers on trooper Alexsandr DelCorvo, a U.S. Air Force veteran who joined the New York State Police in 2014 and spent most of his career with Troop E in Rochester, with no prior disciplinary history, according to the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association (NYSTPBA).

A random test, a second positive — and three months still on patrol

The case began with a random drug test in June 2025 that found THC in DelCorvo's system. According to the lawsuit, State Police officials did not immediately notify him of the result, and he continued working road patrol for more than three months. A second test in September 2025 also came back positive.

In a statement in November 2025, DelCorvo said he had been taking CBD gummies — a non-psychoactive chewable that often contains trace amounts of THC — to manage pain from an on-duty back injury after prescribed medications failed to relieve it. He denied ever using cannabis on duty or being impaired at work.

Crucially, the petition says the State Police never claimed DelCorvo used cannabis while working or was impaired on the job. The union argues his termination violated a New York law that generally prohibits employers from penalizing workers for legal cannabis use outside work hours, as long as they are not impaired on duty.

The board said keep him. The superintendent fired him anyway

At DelCorvo's disciplinary hearing in June 2026, State Police witnesses — including a captain who had supervised him — testified they had never observed signs of impairment, according to the union's account of the proceedings. The three-member disciplinary board found DelCorvo guilty of the charges but unanimously recommended he stay employed, citing his record, his candor and the legalization of cannabis in New York. It proposed a 90-day unpaid suspension and a year of probation instead of termination.

Superintendent Steven James rejected that recommendation and dismissed DelCorvo on July 3. The trooper was then placed on New York's police decertification registry, which bars him from working in law enforcement anywhere in the state, the union said. The NYSTPBA's own legal reporting on the case likewise records that a hearing board's recommended suspension was rejected and the member terminated, and that the association intended to challenge the decision in court.

Source: NYSTPBA July–August 2026 Legal Report

"This is not discipline; it's an abuse of authority," NYSTPBA President Charles W. Murphy said in a statement, arguing the superintendent disregarded the findings of a panel that included two members James had personally selected.

Why this reaches far beyond one trooper

New York legalized recreational cannabis in 2021, and its labor protections for off-duty use are among the strongest in the United States — but police agencies have argued that officers are different: armed, on call, and subject to federal rules that still treat cannabis as illegal. Courts in several states have split on how far workplace protections extend to safety-sensitive jobs, which is why this Albany County case is being watched well beyond Troop E.

For readers in the Punjabi diaspora — many of whom work in trucking, warehousing and other safety-sensitive jobs in New York and New Jersey — the legal question underneath is a familiar one: how much say does an employer have over what a worker lawfully does at home? Truck drivers face federal DOT testing rules that are stricter than state law, so troopers winning this argument would not automatically change CDL rules — but a ruling would sharpen the national debate about off-duty rights.

A representative for the New York State Police did not respond to The Chief's request for comment. The case now moves through Albany County Supreme Court, where the state will have to defend the superintendent's decision to override his own disciplinary board.