With the recent kerfuffle in New Jersey regarding their long-overdue cannabis legalization, particularly regarding parental notification for underage possession offenders under 21, we at Twenty-One Debunked thus see a need to clarify our position on parental notification for underage possession consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. We believe the age limit for all three should be 18 and not a day later (i.e. the Alberta Model), and regardless of the age limit we believe the following as well:
- For anyone over 18, parental notification should be prohibited, period, as 18 is the legal age of majority. Why this is even the least bit controversial is truly mind-boggling.
- For anyone under 18, parental notification should NOT be mandatory, but rather should be discretionary, at least for first offenses of simple possession. Even for subsequent offenses, there should still be nuance and proportionality.
- For younger teens/tweens under 15 or 16, parental notification may very well be the preferable go-to option in many cases, but for older teens it should be regarded as more of a "nuclear" option for serious or repeat offenders.
- Underage possession/consumption per se should be decriminalized. That is, it should bypass the criminal justice system entirely, and should carry no arrest, no jail time, and no criminal record. Rather, the penalties (if any) should include only a verbal or written warning, a modest civil fine (i.e. a parking or traffic-style ticket), a brief educational course, and/or confiscation of the contraband items.
- Any more serious penalties should be reserved solely for more serious and/or flagrant offenses that go beyond simple possession or sharing among peers, such as when impaired driving, violence, vandalism, theft, trespassing, obstructing traffic, disturbing the peace, and/or disorderly conduct is involved. For ALL ages. (Note that most of these are arrestable offenses.)
- No one should lose their driver's license for any non-driving related infractions.
- Rather than disproportionately targeting young people themselves, there should be a much greater focus on adults over 18 who sell or furnish such substances to people under 18, especially when there is a large age difference between the furnisher and furnishee.
None of these should be controversial at all. If you honestly think these are extremist positions, you seriously need to have your head examined!
