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Atlanta police no longer asking about marijuana use on applications

The department will no longer disqualify applicants who have smoked weed within the past two years

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This Feb. 17, 2016 file photo shows marijuana plants at a home in Honolulu.

AP Photo/Marina Riker, File

By Police1 Staff

ATLANTA — Smoking marijuana will no longer knock your chances of becoming an Atlanta police officer.

According to local news station WSB-TV, the Atlanta Police Department will no longer ask applicants if they’ve smoked weed within the past two years. The department said they have lost too many qualified candidates when asked about smoking, so they’re no longer considering it as a factor to join the force.

Officers still won’t be allowed to smoke and be on the force, but in order to recruit potential candidates, the department is no longer holding prior use against applicants.

Marijuana is now legal in 33 states.

NEXT: Policing in an era of legal marijuana

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