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Social host laws: Punishing adults for teen pot parties

Teen members of the South Bay Youth 4 Change will speak before the Chula Vista City Council Tuesday afternoon in an effort to have marijuana and controlled substances added to the city's social hos...

CHULA VISTA (CNS) - Teen members of the South Bay Youth 4 Change spoke before the Chula Vista City Council Tuesday in an effort to have marijuana and controlled substances added to the city's social host ordinance.
   
The current social host law applies only to alcohol. Chula Vista would become the second city in San Diego County, following Santee, to pass an amendment to include marijuana and other controlled substances.
   
"Kids don't think pot is harmful, so they're more likely to want to try it,'' said Madeline Coronado, a member of the South Bay Youth 4 Change.

"They don't realize the consequences they could face or the harm they're doing to themselves and their health.''
   
According to locally collected data for the California Healthy Kids survey in 2015, almost one in five 11th graders reported having used marijuana in the last 30 days. And that percentage almost doubles among non-traditional continuation school students.
   
If the proposed amendment passes, the new law would read as follows:
   
"It is the duty of any person having control of any premises, who knowingly hosts, permits, or allows a gathering at said premises to take all reasonable steps to prevent the consumption of alcoholic beverages, marijuana, or other controlled substances by any minor at the gathering.
   
"Reasonable steps are prohibiting controlled substances at the gathering; controlling access to alcoholic beverages and marijuana at the gathering; controlling the quantity of alcoholic beverages and marijuana present at the gathering; verifying the age of persons attending the gathering by inspecting driver's licenses or other government-issued identification cards to ensure that minors do not consume alcoholic beverages or marijuana while at the gathering; and supervising the activities of minors at the gathering.''

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