Legally Speaking by Cassandra Savoy, Esq. OP/ED
The new decriminalization of marijuana law defines how the police should treat those under the age of 21 who are found to possess or consume any amount of marijuana, hashish, cannabis or alcohol in any public place EXCEPT SCHOOL.
First offense: The police shall issue a written warning which must include the person’s name, address, and date of birth, but the warning shall not be provided to the person’s parent or guardian.
Second offense: The police shall issue a written warning, and also provide written informational materials about drug treatment services in the community. And, the police must provide copies of the first and second warnings to the person’s parent or guardian.
Third offense and offenses thereafter: In the event a person is between 18 and 21, The police shall issue a written warning and again provide the individual with information about drug treatment services in the area. In the event the person is under 18, the police shall provide notice of the written warnings and notice of drug treatment services in the community to the individual’s parents or guardian.
The police are required to keep a sworn statement with a description of the factual circumstances that support a finding of a violation.
I can see the temporary problem with the execution of the new law. One could get a “first offense warning” is multiple towns. Therefore, I would expect that first warnings will in the very near future be computerized and available to every police department. Otherwise, one can envision some errant teen getting a “first warning” in Newark, East Orange, Irvington, Bloomfield, South Orange…So expect the tracking to happen in a short time.
You should note that under the new law, officers may not fingerprint individuals under the age 21 for their first, second, third or subsequent offenses. However, if an individual is under 21 is in possession of more than 6 ounces of marijuana or 17 grams of hashish, that individual is also in violation of the drug law (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(3)(b)), a fourth-degree crime and may be issued a complaint-summons and fingerprinted at their first court appearance.
In this age of the police seem to get away with murder, the new law also prohibits the police from engaging in certain actions when investigating an individual under age 21 for possession of marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or alcohol. More importantly, police officers who violate these provisions may be charge criminally with depriving the individual of his civil rights, regardless of whether the officer intended to do so or not. Police officers cannot:
· Ask an individual under 21 for consent to search the person to determine a violation of that crime. However, if the individual is over 18 and the officer reasonably believes that other criminal activity is going on, the individual may grant consent to search.
· Search the person’s personal property or vehicle to determine if there is a violation of a drug offense merely because they claim to speak marijuana, hashish, or alcohol as these no longer provide probably cause to suspect that a crime is in progress.
· The unconcealed possession of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item that is observed in plain sight shall not constitute probable cause to initiate a search of an individual under the age of 21 or that individual’s personal property or vehicle to determine a violation of any law.
· When responding to a violation of any of the drug laws, police MUST activate their body cameras which MUST remain activated throughout the encounter.
