Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Revises consequences for underage possession or consumption of various forms of cannabis included in legislation passed by both Houses of Legislature; requires AG reports, reviewable by task force, on law enforcement interactions on underage violations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act addressing the possession, consumption, or distribution of various forms of cannabis, amending the title and body of P.L.1979, c.264, and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The title of P.L.1979, c.264 is amended to read as follows:
An Act concerning certain [alcoholic beverage and cannabis item] offenses by persons under the legal age to purchase [alcoholic beverages and cannabis] various regulated items, and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.
(cf: P.L.2021, c. , s.72)
2. Section 1 of P.L.1979, c.264 (C.2C:33-15) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. (1) Any person under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages who knowingly possesses without legal authority or who knowingly consumes any alcoholic beverage in any school, public conveyance, public place, or place of public assembly, or motor vehicle, is guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense, and shall, in the case of an adult under the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages, be fined not less than $250.
(2) (a) Any person under
the legal age to purchase cannabis items who knowingly possesses without legal
authority marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item, the
amount of which may be lawfully possessed by a person of the legal age to
purchase cannabis items pursuant to section 46 [.] of P.L. , c. (C. )
(passed both Houses on December 17, 2020 as Second Reprint of Assembly Bill No.
21), in any school, public conveyance, public place, or place of public
assembly, or motor vehicle [,
is guilty of a petty
disorderly persons offense, and] shall [, in the case of an adult under
the legal age to purchase cannabis items,]
be [fined
not less than $250]
subject to a civil penalty of $50, which shall be recovered in a civil
action by a summary proceeding in the name of the municipality pursuant to the
Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999, P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), except
that a person under the age of 18 years who violates this subparagraph shall
not be subject to a civil penalty but instead shall be subject to a point-of-violation
warning or juvenile intervention, as defined in this section, and which is
conducted in the same manner as an action referred to as a curbside warning or
stationhouse adjustment, respectively, would be conducted in accordance with
Attorney
General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2020-12 as if the violation were to
constitute a petty disorderly persons offense, without the filing of a
complaint with the court. The municipal court that has territorial
jurisdiction over the violation and the Superior Court shall both have
jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the civil penalty
provided by this subparagraph.
The odor of marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, or burnt marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, shall not constitute reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate a search of a person to determine a violation of this subparagraph. A person who violates this subparagraph shall not be subject to arrest, detention, or otherwise be taken into custody except to the extent required for a juvenile intervention as permitted by this subparagraph, 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.
(b) Any person under the legal age to purchase cannabis items who knowingly possesses without legal authority marijuana, hashish, or any cannabis item, the amount of which exceeds what may be lawfully possessed by a person of the legal age to purchase cannabis items pursuant to section 46 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (passed both Houses on December 17, 2020 as Second Reprint of Assembly Bill No. 21), or who knowingly consumes any marijuana, hashish, or cannabis item in any school, public conveyance, public place, or place of public assembly, or motor vehicle [, is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, and] shall [, in the case of an adult under the legal age to purchase cannabis items,] be [fined not less than $500] subject to a civil penalty of $100, which shall be recovered in a civil action by a summary proceeding in the name of the municipality pursuant to the Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999, P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), except that a person under the age of 18 years who violates this subparagraph shall not be subject to a civil penalty but instead shall be subject to a point-of-violation warning or juvenile intervention, as defined in this section, and which is conducted in the same manner as an action referred to as a curbside warning or stationhouse adjustment, respectively, would be conducted in accordance with Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No. 2020-12 as if the violation were to constitute a disorderly persons offense, without the filing of a complaint with the court. The municipal court that has territorial jurisdiction over the violation and the Superior Court shall both have jurisdiction of proceedings for the enforcement of the civil penalty provided by this subparagraph.
The odor of marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, or burnt marijuana, hashish, cannabis, or cannabis item, shall not constitute reasonable articulable suspicion to initiate a search of a person to determine a violation of this subparagraph. A person who violates this subparagraph shall not be subject to arrest, detention, or otherwise be taken into custody except to the extent required for a juvenile intervention as permitted by this subparagraph, 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.
(c) (i) As used in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph:
Juvenile intervention means a mechanism that allows law enforcement agencies to resolve a violation of either subparagraph by a person under the age of 18 years without formal court proceedings. A juvenile intervention, which shall be memorialized in a signed agreement, establishes one or more conditions that the person shall meet in exchange for the law enforcement agency declining to pursue a formal delinquency complaint against the person.
Point-of-violation warning means a brief, informal interaction between a law enforcement officer and a person under the age of 18 years who the officer observed engage in a violation of either subparagraph. During the interaction, the officer shall counsel the person to discontinue the conduct, warn the person about the potential consequences of future delinquency, and then conclude the interaction without taking any further action. For the purposes of this definition, a point-of-violation warning does not include interactions between a person under the age of 18 years and a school resource officer or other law enforcement officer assigned to a school, as those interactions are governed by other statutes, and policies and practices established betwee