My Child is using drugs! Why didn’t they tell me?

Under NJ’s new cannabis laws, they have legalized crime and criminalized enforcing it.  Yes, you read that correctly.  It is now a criminal offence for a Police Officer to tell you they found your teenager smoking weed and drinking beer, and doing so is punishable by up to 5 years in jail for that Officer.  

As per the Attorney General’s Interim Guidance Regarding Marijuana Decriminalization he states the following:

“The law also establishes a new framework for individuals under the age of 21 who possess or consume any amount of marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or alcohol in any public place, including a school: 

• First offense. Officers 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 individual’s parent or guardian.”

But don’t blame him, he is only the messenger.  Here is the actual law: S3454 - Underage Possession & Use 

I spent many hours over the last two days digesting the hundreds of pages of legalese (with anything but ease) and as a parent and retired police officer, this was by far the most disturbing part of the new legislation.

Example:  Your 14 year old child is walking down Main Street (or even in school as per the law) with a friend smoking a blunt and a drinking a beer.  Someone calls the police, and an Officer arrives to investigate.  The Officer observes the activity as reported and as per the law collects the juvenile’s information and issues a written warning.  The warning is an official document that will be filed with an official police report.  This consists of the entire contact and your child goes on their way, continuing to get high and drunk.  The officer, by law, cannot now call and tell you about the interaction, because if they do, the officer will go to jail (catching on yet?).  

This law certainly creates more problems than it “solves”, but hey, as the law states, it’s all in the name of social justice.  So let’s think about some of the “unintended consequences” and a few gems in this ad hock legislation.

·      You cannot get your child help when caught with drugs for the first time because the police can’t tell you about it, but the local illicit dealer can use your kid as a runner because the police can’t legally search them according to the law or the officer will then go to jail (again).

·      They separated marijuana smoking from the clean air act so you can now smoke weed in a restaurant or other “Smoking Ban” areas as long as there is a designated location for using the peace pipe.  

·      The law makes the use of a controlled substance akin to smoking cigarettes, with no provision of smoking while driving or being under the influence. In fact, it removes the statutes from the books (39:4-49.1and 2C:35-10b). DUI crashes and deaths will spike beyond belief (just ask Colorado, California and Massachusetts).  Spoiler Alert, that’s the next article.

·      Marijuana in plain sight is no longer Probable Cause for a search (including a vehicle) when trying to uncover additional crimes (including DUI unless you have other PC to investigate).

·      Anyone under 21 years of age cannot legally give consent to a search regarding marijuana and alcohol.  Think about that, a legal adult, 18-21, cannot give legal consent for a search and the Officer commits a crime if they ask, and you got, the Officer goes to jail.

·      And the caveat, if you haven’t figured it out already, is captured in the AG’s guidance, “Importantly, officers who violate these provisions may be charged criminally with depriving the individual of their civil rights, regardless of whether the officer intended to do so.” This is a 3rd degree crime punishable by up to 5 years in jail.  This language is now aligned with the Biased Crimes statues, making marijuana users a protected class.

With States on the West Coast now legalizing heroin and other street drugs and a Columbia Professor advocating for the same in New York this week, I assure you it will be here in NJ next.  And just imagine, the police won’t be able to tell you they found your kid in an ally with a needle in their arm, but it’s ok, it was only the first time they got caught.

So I repeat: under NJ’s new cannabis laws, they have legalized crime and criminalized enforcing it.  What was wrong is now right, what was right is now wrong and knowingly or not, you voted for it.

David Berez is a retired police officer, having served more than 20 years with the East Windsor Police Department and a total of 30 years in Emergency Services. Following his retirement, Mr. Berez is now the President and Founder of Six4 Consultants, a Public Safety Consulting Firm. Mr. Berez is also a featured columnist, guest speaker and panelist on a variety of Public Safety discussions. In September of 2020, Mr. Berez was trained as a Resiliency Program Officer. 

Contact: [email protected] LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/in/david-berez/

Links to the laws and AG Guidance: A21 - Legislation Act, A1897 - Marijuana Decriminalization, S3454 - Underage Possession & Use, Interim Guidance Regarding Marijuana Decriminalization