A former Lafayette firefighter is appealing his termination from the fire department over a failed drug test he said stemmed from CBD use.
On Wednesday, the Lafayette Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board agreed to hear a termination appeal from former firefighter Jordan Arnaud, who was fired in January for violating Lafayette Consolidated Government’s substance abuse policy and related fire department regulations, according to his appeal application.
Arnaud’s termination letter from Fire Chief Robert Benoit said the chief was notified Dec. 29 that Arnaud had failed a post-accident drug screening, and the following day Arnaud informed his superiors that “he had a prescription for medical marijuana,” the termination letter said.
The termination letter says Arnaud told officials that he had been prescribed medical marijuana for almost a year and had been taking CBD gummies to help himself sleep at night but did not take the gummies while on duty.
Arnaud had worked for the department for six years when he was terminated, his appeal application said.
This is not the first time a case involving CBD use has come before the fire and police board.
In December 2021, the fire and police board reinstated Lafayette Police Department employee Bernard Anderson, who had been terminated six months prior after a post-accident drug test and sample retest were positive for marijuana…
