Defending a cannabis consumer; state troopers' union sues over firing for positive weed test

State troopers can toke while off the clock.

So argues the union representing New York State Police troopers in a lawsuit challenging the firing of a 12-year veteran who tested positive for cannabis on a drug test. The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association is arguing that state law protects workers who legally use the substance off duty and that State Police leadership improperly overruled a disciplinary panel that recommended the officer keep his job.

NYSTPBA which represents about 7,000 workers, filed a petition in Albany County Supreme Court on Oct. 29, seeking to overturn the termination of trooper Alexsandr DelCorvo and establish that the State Police cannot fire troopers solely for legal off-duty cannabis use.

The lawsuit names State Police Superintendent Steven James, who dismissed DelCorvo on July 3 despite a unanimous recommendation from a three-member disciplinary board that the trooper be retained with a 90-day unpaid suspension and a year of probation.

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

'I made a mistake trying to deal with pain'

The union contends that DelCorvo’s termination violated a law that generally prohibits employers from penalizing workers for legal cannabis use outside of work, as long as they aren’t impaired on the job.

The State Police did not claim that DelCorvo had used cannabis while working or that he was impaired on duty, according to the lawsuit. The petition also argues that James’ decision to impose the harsher penalty was arbitrary and inconsistent with the treatment of other troopers involved in incidents with alcohol or cannabis use. 

“I gave this job everything for almost 12 years, and I never let anything get in the way of doing it right,” DelCorvo said in a statement. “I made a mistake trying to deal with pain from an injury I got on duty, and I owned it the moment I was asked.”

DelCorvo, who is a U.S. Air Force veteran and joined the State Police in 2014, spent most of his career assigned to Troop E in Rochester and had no prior disciplinary history, according to the union.

The case stems from a random drug test in June 2025 that found THC in DelCorvo’s system. 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 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 provide relief.

He denied using cannabis while on duty or being impaired at work.

A representative for the New York State Police did not respond to a request for comment.

Superintendent disregarded findings of disciplinary board

At his disciplinary hearing in June 2026, State Police witnesses, including a captain who had supervised DelCorvo, testified that they had never observed signs of impairment, according to the union’s account of the proceedings. 

The disciplinary board nevertheless found DelCorvo guilty of the charges, but unanimously recommended that he remain employed, citing his record, his candor and the legalization of cannabis in New York. The board proposed a suspension and probation rather than termination.

James rejected the recommendation and fired DelCorvo on July 3. He was subsequently placed on the state’s police decertification registry, which bars him from working in law enforcement again anywhere in New York, the union said.

The NYSTPBA maintains that New York’s legal protections should be extended to law enforcement officers and is asking the court to revoke DelCorvo’s firing and declare that State Police officials lack the authority to fire troopers for legal off-duty cannabis use.

“I’m asking for a fair resolution,” DelCorvo said.