Bill > S3454

Introduced Session

This bill would revise the consequences associated with the underage possession or consumption of illegal marijuana or hashish, or legalized cannabis items which may only be lawfully possessed by persons 21 years of age or older pursuant to Article IV, Section VII, paragraph 13 of the New Jersey Constitution and the enabling legislation to establish a legal, regulated cannabis marketplace, the Second Reprint of Assembly Bill No. 21, titled the "New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act," which passed both Houses of the Legislature on December 17, 2020. Additionally, it addresses penalties for person who wrongfully supply legalized cannabis items to underage persons, funding for programs and services to help deter and prevent underage possession and consumption of cannabis items, or illegal marijuana or hashish, and revised training for law enforcement officers concerning interactions with underage persons regarding such activities. Underage Possession or Consumption The bill would make the underage possession or consumption of marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item a civil penalty of up to $50 for persons between 18 years of age and under 21 years of age. The penalty would be recovered in a summary proceeding before either the municipal court having jurisdiction or the Superior Court in the name of the State pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The penalty shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Alcohol Education, Rehabilitation and Enforcement Fund established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1983, c.531 (C.26:2B-32), and used to fund community services, including resources that serve persons with alcohol use disorder and persons with a substance use disorder as well as educational programs, through annual county-level comprehensive plans that may incorporate government programs and services, and private organizations, including volunteer groups, prepared in accordance with section 4 of P.L.1983, c.531 (C.26:2B-33). For a person under the age of 18 years who committed a possession or consumption violation, such person would be subject to the following consequences: - for a first violation, a written warning issued by a law enforcement officer to the underage person. The written warning would include the person's name, address, and date of birth, and a copy of the warning containing this information, plus a description of the relevant facts and circumstances that support the officer's determination of probable cause that the person committed the violation, would be temporarily maintained in accordance with the bill only for the purposes of determining a second or subsequent violation - for a second violation, a written warning issued by a law enforcement officer to the underage person indicating that a second violation has occurred, which includes the person's name, address, and date of birth, and a written notification concerning the second violation, along with a copy of the written warning for the person's first violation, would be provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage person in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a). The written notification would include a referral to a public or private agency or organization included in a county-level comprehensive plan used to fund community services prepared in accordance with section 4 of P.L.1983, c.531 (C.26:2B-33) that can assist with opportunities to access further social services, including counseling, tutoring programs, mentoring services, and faith-based or other community initiatives. A copy of the second written warning with a description of the relevant facts and circumstances that support the officer's determination of probable cause that the person committed the second violation, would be temporarily maintained in accordance with the bill only for the purposes of determining a third or subsequent violation. - for a third or subsequent violation based upon a probable cause finding by a law enforcement officer, a civil penalty of up to $50 or the performance of community service in lieu of payment of the penalty, and a written notification concerning the third or subsequent violation would be provided to the parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage person in accordance with section 3 of P.L.1991, c.169 (C.33:1-81.1a). Whenever the civil penalty was imposed, it would be recovered in a summary proceeding in either municipal court or the Superior Court and, like the civil penalty imposed on a person over 18 years of age, would be remitted to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Alcohol Education, Rehabilitation and Enforcement Fund, and used to fund community services, including resources that serve persons with alcohol use disorder and persons with a substance use disorder as well as educational programs, through annual county-level comprehensive plans that may incorporate government programs and services, and private organizations, including volunteer groups. Whenever community service was imposed by the court in lieu of payment of the civil penalty, the value of each hour of service would be considered to be not less than the State minimum wage established by the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.), or federal minimum wage established by 29 U.S.C. s.206, or any successor State or federal law, whichever wage is higher, and the community service imposed could not exceed $50 in value. In addition, for a third or subsequent violation, the court would include a referral to a public or private agency or organization included in a county-level comprehensive plan as described above. All law enforcement and court records concerning the disposition of a third or subsequent violation would be temporarily maintained in accordance with the bill only to the extent necessary to enforce a civil penalty or community service imposed by the court, and the court's referral for treatment and other assistance, as well as for the purposes of determining a subsequent violation. A person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items would not be capable, under the provisions of the bill, of giving lawful consent to a search to determine an underage possession or consumption violation, and a law enforcement officer would not be permitted to request that a person consent to a search for that purpose. The odor of marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, or burnt marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, would not constitute reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop of a person, nor would it constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's personal property to determine an underage possession or consumption violation. Additionally, the unconcealed, underage possession of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item, observed in plain sight by a law enforcement officer, would not constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's personal property to determine any further unlawful possession or consumption violation or any other violation of law. A person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items who commits a violation for possessing or consuming marijuana, hashish, or a cannabis item would not be subject to arrest, and would not be subject to detention or otherwise be taken into custody by a law enforcement officer except to the extent required to issue a written warning, provide notice of a violation to a parent, guardian or other person having legal custody of the underage person, or issue a summons for a third or subsequent violation, unless the person is being arrested, detained, or otherwise taken into custody for also committing another violation of law for which that action is legally permitted or required. Consistent with the provisions of subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.2020, c.129 (C.40A:14-118.5), the video and audio recording functions of a law enforcement officer's body worn camera, as defined in that section, would be required to be activated whenever the law enforcement officer is responding to a call for service related to an underage possession or consumption violation or suspected violation, or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between an officer and a person related to a violation or suspected violation, and would be required to remain activated until the encounter has fully concluded and the officer leaves the scene of the encounter. As part of the process for the issuance of a written warning to a person for a violation pursuant to the bill based upon probable cause, the law enforcement officer could take possession of any marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item from the person, and any drug or cannabis paraphernalia for use with the marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item. The existence and description of the marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item, and any drug or cannabis paraphernalia would be included in the relevant facts and circumstances catalogued in the determination of probable cause record temporarily maintained in accordance with bill. Any marijuana, hashish, cannabis item, or drug or cannabis paraphernalia obtained by the law enforcement officer would either be destroyed or secured for use in law enforcement training or educational programs in accordance with applicable law and directives issued by the Attorney General. With respect to any violation concerning the underage possession or consumption of marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item: - a person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items shall not be photographed or fingerprinted, notwithstanding any provisions of section 2 of P.L.1982, c.79 (C.2A:4A-61) to the contrary; - any copy of any written warning issued to a person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items, written notification provided to the person's parent, guardian or other person having legal custody, or record pertaining to a third or subsequent violation subject to a summary proceeding for imposition of a civil penalty or community service would be segregated and maintained in a separate physical location or electronic repository or database from any other records maintained by a law enforcement agency, and reported to the Attorney General in a manner so that they are similarly segregated and maintained in a separate physical location or electronic repository or database from other law enforcement records accessible to the Attorney General and State and local law enforcement agencies, and could not be transferred to or copied and placed in any other physical location or electronic repository or database containing any other law enforcement records. These records would only be used, as previously described, to the extent necessary to determine a subsequent underage possession or consumption violation or enforce a civil penalty or community service imposed by a court. Such records would not be revealed, reviewed, or considered in any manner with respect to any current or subsequent juvenile delinquency matter, including but not limited to, a charge, filing, eligibility or decision for diversion or discharge, or sentencing, other disposition, or related decision affecting the juvenile, or with respect to any current or subsequent prosecution for committing an offense or other violation of law, including but not limited to, a charge, filing, eligibility or decision for diversion or discharge, or sentencing, other disposition, or related decision affecting an adult under 21 years of age. Also, these records shall be deemed confidential and shall not be subject to public inspection or copying pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.), and their existence shall not be acknowledged based upon any inquiry in the same manner as if the records were expunged records pursuant to the provisions of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:52-15. The Attorney General could use the records to generate the number of occurrences and other statistics concerning first, second, third and subsequent violations, the municipal, county or other geographic areas within which first, second, third and subsequent violations occur, and the law enforcement agencies involved in first, second, third and subsequent violations, which would to be compiled and made publicly available by the Attorney General in biannual reports, with the first such report scheduled to be issued by June 30, 2021, the second one issued by January 30, 2022, and then the next report issued every six months thereafter. The identity of any person named in a record would not be revealed or included in the information to be compiled and made available. All of the records maintained by a law enforcement agency and reported to the Attorney General would be destroyed or permanently deleted by the law enforcement agency and Attorney General on the second anniversary following the creation of the record concerning a violation, or not later than the last day of the month in which that second anniversary date falls, except that a record would be maintained upon request by the person named in the record or representative thereof, the law enforcement officer who made the record, or the law enforcement agency currently maintaining the record if it involves a law suit, disciplinary complaint, or criminal prosecution arising from the violation described in the record, based on an assertion that the record has evidentiary or exculpatory value. Upon final disposition of the matter for which the extended record retention was requested, the record shall be destroyed or permanently deleted. For underage violations, the bill would also establish an immunity from prosecution for: any underage person in need of medical assistance due to the consumption of marijuana of hashish; the underage person who called 9-1-1 to get that person assistance; and up to two other persons acting in concert with the underage person who made the call. This immunity is the same immunity already provided for situations involving the underage consumption of alcohol, and expanded to the underage consumption of cannabis items by the recently passed "New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act." Additionally, the $50 civil penalty created by that act for using another person's driver's license or other government-issued identification card, or using a false identity, to obtain cannabis items would be eliminated. The current law does not provide for any form of punishment when another's identity or a false identity is used to obtain tobacco products or alcoholic beverages, so this would be an approach consistent with the existing State's approach on such uses or identification cards or false identities. A taskforce would be established in the Department of Law and Public Safety, comprising of 26 ex-official members and members appointed by the Governor representing law enforcement, juvenile justice interests, and community and non-profit groups to review each Attorney General biannual report described above and any requested amount of law enforcement body worn camera recordings mandated by the bill concerning interactions on underage possession and consumption violations or potential violations, and make recommendations thereon to the Governor and Legislature related to law enforcement activities to address the enforcement of underage possession or consumption of marijuana, hashish, or cannabis items, as well as the broader issue of underage possession or consumption of these substances. To assist with efforts to deter and prevent persons under the legal age to purchase cannabis items from engaging in activities associated with underage use of cannabis items, or illegal marijuana or hashish, the bill would revise provisions in the recently passed legislation establishing a legalized cannabis market that create the "Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund," and establish an account within that fund to be known as the "Underage Deterrence and Prevention Account." From all of the monies from retail sales of cannabis items and various other cannabis-related sources that are deposited in the fund, 15 percent of such would be placed in the internal account. These monies would be used by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission to fund private for-profit and non-profit organizations, and county and municipal programs and services that offer social services, educational, recreational, and employment opportunities, and local economic development designed to encourage, improve, and support youthful community activities to divert and prevent persons under 18 year of age from engaging in activities associated with underage use of cannabis items, or illegal marijuana or hashish. Suppliers of Cannabis Items to Underage Persons The bill would establish the following civil penalties for persons who sell or otherwise provide cannabis items to underage persons: not less than $250 for a first violation; not less than $500 for a second violation; and $1,000 for a third and each subsequent violation. These are the same civil penalties applicable to licensed tobacco retailers and persons who provide tobacco products to underage persons. See P.L.2019, c.396, s.1 (C.2A:170-51.14). The "Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act," specifically in section 64, would also establish the same civil penalties for licensed businesses, and their agents and employees, who commit such acts, so to prevent a doubling of the civil penalty, the bill specifies that its penalty would apply to any person who is not otherwise subject to the civil penalty under that act. Any official authorized by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, or, like with tobacco product enforcement, any official authorized by statute or ordinance to enforce the State or local health codes, or a law enforcement officer could issue summons for violations. Additionally, like tobacco product enforcement, the civil penalty would be recovered by the local health agency for the jurisdiction in which a violation occurred, and the money collected would be paid into the treasury of the corresponding municipality for the municipality's own general uses. The commission, along with the Commissioner of Health, would be authorized to coordinate efforts to enforce the bill's provisions for punishing violators, as well as delegate enforcement authority to local health agencies, just as the Commissioner of Health may do so currently with respect to enforcement efforts concerning tobacco products. The commission would report on enforcement efforts concerning underage sales or other transfers in its annual report on personal use cannabis activities that would be prepared pursuant to the "Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act." In addition to a civil penalty, a fine for selling or otherwise providing a cannabis item to an underage person could be imposed, which would be the same fine that may currently be imposed when the action involves a tobacco product. See P.L.1999, c.90, s.3 (C.2C:33-13.1). The fine would be based on the fine imposed for committing a petty disorderly persons offense, which is a fine of up to $500, and this fine could be doubled for second or subsequent violations. Further, a person 21 years of age or older who purchased a cannabis item as a "straw man" on behalf of a person who is under 21 years of age could be adjudged a petty disorderly person, subject to a term of imprisonment of up to 30 days, a fine of up to $500, or both. Law Enforcement Training The Police Training Commission in the Department of Law and Public Safety would adopt a training course regarding law enforcement interactions with persons under the lawful age to purchase cannabis items based upon the legalization of a personal use cannabis marketplace pursuant to the "New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act," the decriminalization of marijuana and hashish pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (passed both Houses of the Legislature on December 17, 2020 as Third Reprint of Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly Bill Nos. 1897 and 4269), and the enforcement of violations of applicable statutes associated with the underage possession or consumption of marijuana, hashish, or cannabis items pursuant to those enactments and this companion bill. This training would include the recognition of and methods to address and avoid racial disparities and implicit bias, and means for interacting with vulnerable juvenile populations. The training course would be administered by the employing agency as part of the in-service training provided to each local police officer in each law enforcement unit operating in this State. Prior to being appointed to permanent status as a local police officer in a law enforcement unit, an individual would be required to complete the training course. Every local police officer appointed prior to the effective date of the bill would, within 18 months of that effective date, satisfactorily complete a training course on such law enforcement interactions. Additionally, within 45 days of the bill's effective date, the Attorney General would prepare a notice explaining the provisions of the aforementioned enactments pertaining to persons under the lawful age to purchase cannabis items and violations of the applicable statutes associated with the underage possession or consumption of marijuana, hashish, or cannabis items, and transmit the notice to the chief or director of every municipal police department, every municipal prosecutor, every county prosecutor, and the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. The notice would be disseminated to every law enforcement officer and would be re-enforced at roll calls and academy service training and continuing education programs so as to ensure that all officers and prosecutors are educated of their responsibilities under the relevant enactments.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D)*,  Nick Scutari (D)*, 

Substituted by A5342 (1R) (on 02/22/2021)

Official Document