Michigan’s Ban on Flavored E-Cigarettes Could Put Kids in Jail
As noted in a Detroit Newsop-ed penned by Jesse Kelley and Carrie Wade of the conservative R Street Institute, Michigan’s criminal code automatically treats 17-year-olds as adults, which means high school juniors prosecuted for breaking these rules could, in theory, end up with an honest-to-God criminal record. By contrast, a minor in possession of alcohol earns only a civil infraction and a fine of up to $100 for the first offense. (Coincidentally, state lawmakers are hammering out a package of reform bills that would shift 17-year-olds back to the juvenile justice system, but it won’t take effect until 2021.) Rigorous enforcement of marijuana laws tends to disproportionately affect members of minority groups; it stands to reason that rigorous enforcement of flavored-vape laws could reflect the same pattern.
