Bill > S3621

Introduced Session

This bill concerns the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages or cannabis by underage persons. Under current law, the odor of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or a cannabis item, or burnt marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or a cannabis item does not constitute reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate an investigatory stop of a person or probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's personal property to determine if an underage person knowingly possesses or consumes any alcoholic beverage, cannabis item, marijuana, or hashish in any school, public conveyance, public place, place of public assembly, or motor vehicle. In addition, current law provides that the unconcealed possession of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item by an underage person, observed in plain sight by a law enforcement officer, does not constitute probable cause to initiate a search of a person or that person's property to determine if the person is in further violation of current law or any other provision of law. This bill provides that notwithstanding these provisions, if a person is unable to provide identification showing that the person is 21 years of age or older, upon the request of a law enforcement officer, the following would constitute probable cause for the officer to search the person or that person's personal belongings for the purpose of taking possession of any alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item from the person, and any drug or cannabis paraphernalia for use with any marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item: 1) the odor of an alcoholic beverage, marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, or burnt marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item that the law enforcement officer reasonably concludes is coming from that person; or 2) the observation by a law enforcement officer of that person consuming and subsequently concealing any alcoholic beverage, cannabis item, marijuana, or hashish. Under the bill, upon request by a law enforcement officer, the person would be required to provide one of the types of government-issued identification as set forth in section 18 of P.L.2021, c.15 (C.24:6I-35).

Committee Categories

Mike Testa (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 02/23/2023)

Official Document