In New York, a Tiny Pot Stash Can Lead to a Child Neglect Claim and Lost Custody
New York’s child welfare agency is opening child neglect cases and sending children to foster care in hundreds of cases when a parent is caught with small amounts of marijuana.
The New York Times interviewed lawyers and examined city records to confirm that such consequences are common. In a few cases, the story says, parents have lost custody.
“Hundreds of New Yorkers who have been caught with small amounts of marijuana, or who have simply admitted to using it, have become ensnared in civil child neglect cases in recent years, though they did not face even the least of criminal charges,” the story says. “For these parents, the child welfare system has become an alternate system of justice, with legal standards on marijuana that appear to be tougher than those of criminal courts or, to some extent, of society at large.”
Michael Fagan, a spokesman for the Administration for Children’s Services, told the Times that the agency investigates drug use because it can put children in danger of abuse or neglect. Most cases, he said, are based on additional problems.
