NJ To Require Parental Notification For Marijuana

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law on Friday that requires police to tell parents when their kids have marijuana in New Jersey.

The bill, A-5472, "requires law enforcement to provide written notification to a parent or guardian of anyone under age 18 who commits first offense of unlawfully possessing or consuming an alcoholic beverage, cannabis, marijuana, or hashish."

Murphy hinted that the change could be coming earlier this month.

"I spoke to the Senate President (Steve Sweeney) on Saturday and, without getting too much into the weeds, no pun intended, on the notification question, I personally think that's a step in the right direction," said Murphy when asked by a reporter.

This comes after backlash from law enforcement agencies and some municipal governments after the marijuana legalization bill was signed into law, allowing kids to escape detection by their parents.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.

If juveniles are caught with marijuana or alcohol, parents would be notified in writing by the police under A-5472/S-3565, a bipartisan bill approved by lawmakers this past week.

The measure would remedy a portion of the statute preventing law enforcement officers from informing parents when a minor child is caught unlawfully using or possessing alcohol or a marijuana product, allowing parents to be notified in writing upon the first violation and each subsequent violation, lawmakers say.

Murphy signed the marijuana legalization bill into law on Feb. 22.

While Republican sponsors of the legislation, Senator Anthony M. Bucco and Senator Declan O’Scanlon support the change, they say it fails to address impractical complications in the laws which could brand law enforcement officers as criminals for minor procedural gaffes committed during interactions with minors.

“This is a step in the right direction for New Jersey families, but to be frank, this legislation misses a major problem when it comes to fixing this mess,” said Bucco. “For parents to be notified, police would have to be willing to risk criminal penalties when interacting with juveniles suspected of using or possessing marijuana or alcohol. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are willing to fix a very important component of the problem that they’ve created, but their prioritization of the parental notification fix is a smoke screen that distracts from the nebulous conditions they have created that could easily ruin an officer’s career if not navigated flawlessly.”

O’Scanlon emphasized that more changes are necessary to protect police officers from unfair criminal prosecutions when they encounter underage individuals in possession of marijuana or alcohol.

“Any improvement to the parental notification law is hollow if Trenton doesn’t address this underlying atrocity,” noted O’Scanlon (R-13). “I am pleased to see my Democrat colleagues recognizing some of the flaws in their recently enacted law, but even with this fix to allow appropriate parental notification, the third degree criminal charge hanging over officers’ heads is enough to discourage anyone from investigating underage possession complaints altogether.

This addendum to New Jersey's marijuana policy also gained approval from Senate Democrats.

“Marijuana was legalized for adults, not for children or teenagers,” said Senator Gopal (D-Monmouth), who serves as the Senate Majority Conference Leader. “Parents need to be notified if their underage child is using marijuana or alcohol so they can take the appropriate steps to protect them from the potential harmful effects of substance use at young ages and to help them make responsible decisions. Allowing parents to remain involved and informed can help to make sure that first time offenders do not become repeat offenders.”

Senator Joe Lagana (D-Bergen) said this change to the law won't impact the social justice initiatives that his Democratic colleagues have fought hard for.

“The goals of social justice reform and greater economic opportunity through legalizing marijuana should not be achieved at the cost of parental involvement,” said Lagana. “As a father, I know that all parents would want to know if their children used alcohol or drugs. When they become adults, they can make responsible decisions based on well informed, good judgement. Until then, parents need to be included so they can provide the guidance and safeguards their children need.”

Prior to the signing of this new bill, the New Jersey State PBA said the state's marijuana law "dangerously ties your hands" and "poses serious threat" to law enforcement jobs, in a statement on Facebook.

Specifically, the union cited the smell of marijuana no longer being a probable cause to search, and potential charges facing officers who don't abide by the new law as cause for concern.

"We are urging every member of law enforcement to avoid approaching people with marijuana until a proper legal analysis and direction can be developed," said the union.

Union officials weren't the only ones pushing back against a lack of parent notification, as the Wyckoff Police Department, and Bridgewater Mayor Matthew Moench, spoke out strongly it.

"It punishes our police officers from taking steps to enforce the law by threatening them with a third-degree crime for investigating potential underage drug use. This places our children, our officers, and our community at risk," Moench said.