State Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued guidelines that allow law enforcement officers to use recreational cannabis while off duty as long as it doesn’t hurt on-the-job performance. But first responders are still not clear on the details.

“There’s so many uncertainties now that we still don’t have answers to,” said Steve McConlogue, who heads the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey. He advises that nobody should come to work impaired by any substance.

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law. For first responders in New Jersey, that means looking to individual employers — towns and EMS squads — for guidance.

“There’s nothing that says a first responder can’t use recreational cannabis. However, it doesn’t exonerate them from their local labor agreement, drug testing policy, rules and regulations,” McConlogue said.

The Department of Health has not given any official guidelines, said Paula Weiler, president of EMS Council of New Jersey. “They’re leaving it up to every different agency to work on it themselves,” Weiler said. She has advised squads to consult lawyers and medical directors when setting cannabis policies.

There’s no clear test to measure impairment from cannabis use. And many first responder squads rely on volunteers, who fit into a different legal category than career rescue workers. Meanwhile, according to the state Department of Community Affairs, the Fire Safety Commission’s subcommittee on cannabis use by firefighters “has not yet formulated a recommendation to the fire service, but are having discussions towards that.”