Point Pleasant Beach Top Cop Rips Marijuana Law's Impact On Kids

POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Point Pleasant Beach Police Cheif Joseph Michigan ripped the state's new marijuana law on Tuesday, saying it "goes far beyond the voter mandate to include the de-facto legalization of marijuana and alcohol for children."

"This law inexplicably bans police officers from notifying parents the first time their children are found to be using or in possession of marijuana or alcohol," he said. "Overreaching even further, the law criminalizes the good-faith actions of a police officer who, smelling marijuana, tries to investigate the underage use or possession by a child."

Michigan said noted that lawmakers are now signaling that there will be a “cleanup” bill that will allow officers to provide notification to parents when children are caught using or possessing marijuana or alcohol.

"The cleanup language as proposed does nothing to correct this fatally flawed legislation," Michigan said. "Officers would continue to face the potential of serious criminal deprivation of civil rights charges for the common-sense act of simply investigating the underage use or possession of marijuana or alcohol by minors."

Michigan said the "dangerous legislation" will still continue to prevent parents from being notified because police won’t be able to realistically investigate in the first place. He also said it guarantees that police "will be powerless to investigate and address the use and abuse of alcohol and marijuana by kids in our schools, parks, beaches and other places of gathering."

"This legislation turns our kids into innocent collateral damage in the quest for social justice in New Jersey," he said. "It is wrong. It is indefensible. And it must be fixed."