Dear Custodian of Records,

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., please accept this letter as a formal request for access to government records relating to the threshold concentration levels used to determine a positive urinalysis result for cannabis (THC) under the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy. For purposes of OPRA, a “government record” includes any document that has been made, maintained, or kept on file in the course of official business, or received in the course of official business. Accordingly, this request encompasses any responsive records in your agency’s possession, custody, or control – whether they originated within the Division of Criminal Justice or were received and are maintained by your office in the course of administering the Law Enforcement Drug Testing Program.

Specifically, I seek the following records:

Documents Identifying THC Cutoff Levels for Positive Drug Tests:
Any official documentation, laboratory protocols, internal memoranda, guidance materials, or policy documents – whether generated by your agency or received and kept in your official files – that identify the cutoff concentration level(s) (expressed in nanograms per milliliter or an equivalent unit) used to determine a positive urine drug test result for cannabis (THC) with respect to:
(a) Applicants for law enforcement positions in New Jersey; and
(b) Sworn law enforcement officers subject to testing under the Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy.

Standards for Initial Screening vs. Confirmatory THC Tests:
Any document, internal memorandum, policy, guidance, or laboratory record – including any applicable state or federal standards – that is used or relied upon by your office to determine what constitutes a “positive” result for cannabis (THC) on:
(a) the initial immunoassay screening test (e.g. fluorescence polarization immunoassay), and
(b) the confirmatory test (e.g. gas chromatography/mass spectrometry or equivalent).

This includes but is not limited to any record that references specific numeric cutoff concentrations (in ng/mL) for THC on the screening and confirmatory tests (for example, 50 ng/mL, 20 ng/mL, 15 ng/mL, or any other established threshold used to define a positive result at each stage).

Comprehensive Drug Test Cutoff Level Charts or Tables:
Any chart, table, appendix, schedule, or attachment – including but not limited to documents sometimes titled “Drug Laboratory Cutoff Levels” – that lists the parent drug and/or metabolite cutoff concentrations (expressed in ng/mL) for substances tested pursuant to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy. (This includes any document showing the cutoff level for cannabis/THC, whether alone or among a list of other substances.)

If no records responsive to any part of this request exist, please provide a certification of non-existence (or “no records” certification) pursuant to Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005), describing the search conducted and affirming that no such records are maintained. This will help ensure clarity on whether the requested information is truly unavailable.

Please note, this request is made with the understanding that such records should exist. By way of context, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission recently acknowledged in In the Matter of S.D., CSC Dkt. No. 2021-1980 (Final Decision, July 20, 2022), that a urine sample containing THC metabolites “in excess of the 15 ng/mL cutoff” was deemed a positive result under the Attorney General’s policy. The Commission’s reliance on a specific 15 ng/mL threshold strongly suggests that an official document, policy, or laboratory reference establishing that cutoff is maintained by the State (either by the State Toxicology Laboratory or by the Attorney General’s/Division of Criminal Justice’s office). Indeed, the Attorney General’s own Drug Testing Policy mandates that all law enforcement specimens be analyzed by the New Jersey State Toxicology Laboratory within the Division of Criminal Justice, as the sole facility for law enforcement drug testing. That policy further provides that the State Toxicology Laboratory’s procedures shall include, among other things, specified “metabolite cut-off levels” for the substances being tested. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the Division of Criminal Justice (which according to the Attorney General's Law Enforcement Drug Testing Policy, Section I states, "The Division of Criminal Justice together with the New Jersey State Medical Examiner Toxicology Laboratory (the Laboratory) shall continue to be responsible for coordinating the New Jersey law enforcement drug testing program.") possesses records delineating the numeric cutoff concentrations used to report positive THC results. This OPRA request seeks access to those very records or any related documentation your agency maintains or utilizes in this regard.

Format of Access:
I request that all responsive records be provided in electronic form (via email), preferably as PDF files or other machine-readable formats, to facilitate efficient access and review.

I believe this request is specific and clear, and it is made in good faith to obtain information of significant public interest. If you consider any portion of this request unclear or require clarification or narrowing of its scope, please contact me as soon as possible so that I may address any issues. I am willing to confer in order to facilitate a prompt and proper search for the records. Additionally, if any portion of the requested records is deemed exempt from disclosure, please release all segregable non-exempt portions and indicate the specific legal basis for any withholding or redaction, as required by OPRA’s provisions (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6).

Under penalty of N.J.S.A. 2C:28-3, I certify that:
I Have Not been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, or any other state, or in United States; I, or another person, Will Not use the requested government records for a commercial purpose; I Am Not seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this request. I appreciate your time and cooperation, and I look forward to your response within the statutory timeframe.