They want it known use on the beach and boardwalk won’t be tolerated
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – City Council and the administration want visitors to know Ocean City is not going to tolerate the use of marijuana on the beach and boardwalk. Officials are adamant about maintaining the family-friendly nature of the resort and they worry about the impact on youth.
The problem is how to limit marijuana use under the legalization act signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy Feb. 22. The law makes it extremely difficult for police officers to intervene.
It is no longer illegal to possess up to 6 ounces of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older, to sell small amounts or to be under the influence of marijuana or hashish. Police are not allowed to search a person or a vehicle if they smell the aroma of marijuana, meaning their ability to enforce any laws regarding marijuana is difficult unless they are able to see it being used or openly possessed in large amounts.
City officials are most concerned about underage users of marijuana and alcohol to whom police from here on out can only issue warnings and not contact their parents for first offenses. They fear it will lead to more underage partying in public, a problem that became an issue last summer in the resort and will lead to greater use of marijuana among young people in general.
At Thursday evening’s City Council meeting, Mayor Jay Gillian and members of council blasted the new legislation because it handcuffs police officers. However, they were cautioned by city Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson that they cannot tell police officers to ignore the laws because it would put the officers at personal liability for violating individuals’ civil rights.
McCrosson told council that the new statutes differentiate between regulated cannabis and unregulated cannabis, which will continue to be treated as a controlled substance. Regulated cannabis will not be available for months because the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission has yet to lay out the rules for sales. The law creates more lenient penalties for distribution of small amounts of marijuana.
The aspect she covered that most outraged members of council and the administration is how the law “significantly changes the way police enforce” possession for individuals under 21 years of age. “This is a sea change in the way offenses will be handled,” McCrosson said, noting it will take a period of adjustment for police officers. She said Police Chief Jay Prettyman has been in contact with the state Attorney General’s office.
On first offenses, an underage person is given a warning, but the law doesn’t allow notification of the person’s parent or guardian. On a second offense, the person gets a warning and, if under 18, a copy goes to the parent along with information on drug treatment services. A copy of a warning also goes to a parent or guardian on a third offense.
Gillian said the new law is “unbelievable” and makes him angry. He laid into the law and what he believes is more permissible parenting in the “everybody gets a trophy” world.
“There’s no way you’re going to come to Ocean City and destroy and do whatever the hell you want,” he said. “I’m telling you right now I’m not going to put up with it.” He cited the problems the city had with young people partying on the beach last summer, an issue the police could not completely control given the vast area of beach they need to cover.
Gillian said he has talked to the chief about things he wants him to do but legally can’t and that McCrosson is keeping him out of trouble by making sure he doesn’t ask more of police than is allowed. That didn’t stop him from saying if police see it being used, “we’re going to do something about it.”
He said the main issue isn’t about tourism, but about young people who need structure and discipline, things they’re not getting during this pandemic. He and council members called on the Ocean City School District to get the rest of the students back in school full-time. Elementary students are back in school five days a week, but older middle school and high school students are still on a hybrid learning schedule that has them in school two days a week.
The marijuana law, he said, “is a blow to our youth.”
State Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, a former city council member who was at the Thursday meeting, said the state Police Benevolent Association and Fraternal Order of Police are not happy about the new law. “You’ve handcuffed the police,” he said. “You’re allowing kids to do things without any repercussions and that’s not a good thing. On top of that, you’re not going to notify parents.”
He pointed out the flaw about multiple warnings is that there is no state database, so a young person can get a first warning in Ocean City and get another first warning in Sea Isle City.
McClellan said the county police chiefs are working together on how to deal with it.
Gillian and council members said they were not as concerned with adults, especially with what they do in private, but noted a lot of locals in the past complained about enforcement against them, that they should be able to have “their wine and cigars on the beach,” ignoring the laws against public consumption of alcohol on the beach and smoking.
Officials fear that issue will get worse with the marijuana because unlike someone drinking nearby on a beach, others would have to deal with marijuana smoke.
Councilman Tomaso Rotondi said it is “absolutely insane” that police can’t tell parents about minors caught smoking marijuana. He said when he was in the military he was told he should not follow bad orders and suggested police should do the same thing, even though McCrosson warned that those police officers could be liable. Rotondi said if that were the case, they should back those officers in court.
Councilman Keith Hartzell said word gets around among young people who know places where they can go to do mischief. He said if the police had a show of enforcement right off the bat, word would get around that Ocean City is not a place that would tolerate underage marijuana or alcohol use.
Councilman Jody Levchuk, who like the mayor runs boardwalk businesses, said he was in support of “whatever we have to do to enforce the laws.”
As a parent, he said he would want other parents to let him know if his children (when they got older) were doing something wrong. “To write a law that enables kids to feel careless and free and non-consequential is insane,” he said.
If the city tolerates marijuana and alcohol abuse among young people, “it’s going to multiply like crazy,” he said. “The last thing that we want to see is people marching down the boardwalk or gathering on the beach having a smokefest,” he added. “People can’t wait to do this. They’re going to pick places in New Jersey. It’s a matter of where they’re going to do it. Hopefully it’s not in Ocean City.”
McCrosson said if the marijuana use is in plain sight, police can take action. If an officer “only smells it, he can’t.” Police officers have been trained for years on what the rules are, she added. “They have to unlearn all that and only in New Jersey.”
Council President Bob Barr said he was behind the police chief and the mayor. “We have an obligation to protect this town and protect the citizens…. It is important to set an example out of the gate. We need to protect Ocean City.”
Gillian said he is waiting for the police chief to come up with a program about how to handle the new law and then the city will have a public meeting about it. He said the city spends millions of dollars fixing the infrastructure in town to improve the quality of life. Dealing with the new marijuana laws also is a quality of life issue.
